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THE FABLE OF THE INDIAN CHIEF

The story was told of a church that interviewed a few people for the vacant post of Head Pastor. Of the 10 short-listed, many applicants they rejected (and the reasons) were:

Abraham – told a lie to protect his wife, he would be unreliable;

Moses – cracked under pressure and did not know how to delegate; Elijah – prone to bouts of depression;

David – brave but murderous; besides, our wives wouldn’t be safe with him about;

Solomon – wisdom personified but a serial womaniser;

Peter – unreliable and untruthful; abandons friends in moments of need;

Paul – good orator but had a violent past. Known to have been intolerant of opposing views; 

John the Baptist – too rustic and ancient. Takes Green issues too seriously and critical of royalty;  

Jesus – hangs around with riff-raffs; his brand of “second chance” wouldn’t wash;

Judas – cunning tactician; could sell our dead woods for 30 grand; good with money – he IS the man

  

Funny or true?

Through a friend in Zambia, I got to hear the story of an Indian Chief who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.
The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the autumn. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.
The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.
The second son rejected that and said that it was covered with green buds and full of promise.
The third son disagreed, “The tree was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing I had ever seen.”
“I disagree with all of you,” retorted the youngest son, “it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfilment.”
 
Their father then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree’s life. He advised them that man cannot, and must not, judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love
 that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the  seasons are up.                 If you give up when it’s winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, and the fulfilment of your autumn.

Incidentally, the church in the story missed out on appointing the only man that was called the “friend of God” – Abraham. Only four people were ever called “Man of God” and Elijah was one of them. Moses – what can we say of his selfless sacrifice when he asked God to wipe his name off His book so that God could save the people he was leading to Canaan? Paul, Peter, Jesus?

The church missed out on the only man ever described as “the Man after God’s own heart” – King David. So he sinned with Uriah and Bath-sheba? But he repented and that is the crux of the matter. God is not looking for perfectionists but the Zacchaeuses, Mary Magdalenes, Nicodemuses, “the woman caught in adultery,” and the weaklings of today – so long as they are willing to admit, repent and change.

                                                                                                    

Johnson Folorunso Ajayi, 23 Aug 2008

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 23rd, 2008 at 10:25 pm and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “THE FABLE OF THE INDIAN CHIEF”

  1. Jorge Figueroa Says:
    August 29th, 2008 at 7:21 pm

    Wow, this is awesome! I’m saving this in my favorite online articles Folder!

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