Here is the story of a man who came to a watchmaker with the hands of a clock and told him,
“Please, fix these hands for me; they haven’t shown the right time for more than six months now!” "Where is the clock?" answered the watchmaker. "It’s at home, over there on the hill." "But I must have the clock." "I just told you; there is nothing wrong with the clock. The problem is with the hands. You just want me to bring you the clock so you can tinker with it and charge me a big price. Give me back those hands!” he said, and so doing, went off in a huff and a puff to find a reasonable watchmaker. Foolish as he was, his caution is very like those of us who would regulate the motions of our lives without being made right on the inside. We think we can regulate our words and our actions with sheer will and discipline. We may even try to regulate our thoughts, as if it were possible. It may work for a while but one can only live so long under the pressure of such discipline. It eventually builds pressure and like the proverbial pressure cooker, if not given an outlet, it will explode. Very often, those of us who have tried it fall under the delusion that we succeed while forgetting that, like with the pressure-cooker, we have allowed ourselves a secret outlet of ‘misbehavior’ that keeps us from exploding. At the end of the day, the only way to regulate the ‘hands’, it to fix the ‘clock’, which is the inclination of our heart. And why don’t we want to fix our heart? Just like the foolish man with the watchmaker, it is because it may cost too much. We may have to let go of some habit, grudge, opinion, attitude or behavior. "I only wish to avoid this or that habit or behavior," we say. But the Master Workman says, "I cannot fix the hands unless you give me the heart!”
1 Comment
|
If you appreciate these articles, support their upcoming publication in a book called, "REFLECTIONS OF A FIRE CHAPLAIN"
|