Parable: Two Homes

  Two men received their inheritance. For both, it included a home. The homes were both old fashioned and the world had long moved on from their design. Yet, both men were glad for the homes and felt that they were a blessing and moved in.

One day a neighbor approached both men, and said, “I have seen your homes, it is a shame you have those old, framed windows, I can see they are warped and not secure. No doubt the wind howls through them and lets in the cold.”

Both men walked away from the conversation not giving it too much heed. But in time they both noticed they couldn't help but hear the neighbor's words in their head. After all, he probably knew more about homes than they did. And what motivation did he have other than their best interest, he wasn’t a window salesman. They began to notice that their home was drafty, the windows did let in the wind. They probably were warped. One of the men was so upset with his poor performing windows that he ripped them out.

The other man noticed the same issues with the windows but began to realize that the wood had swollen because of poor maintenance. He pulled the windows out one by one, sanded, and repainted and put them back and was happy to find they were nice and tight.

The next day the neighbor again walked by the homes. He noted that, “those old chimneys either smoke you out or let all the heat out, there is no middle ground. Hardly any good at all.” Again, the words began to irritate the men. It was true that in order to get any heat at all in the home it did lead to a lot of smoke. This was especially irritating to the man who now had no windows as heat was at a premium. He could take it no more, the chimney was worthless, and he boarded it up and abandoned it. The other man began to research and realized the chimney was fine, it was the operation of the flu that had caused the issue. He studied flues and after some reshaping was able to heat his home smoke free. 

This was repeated over and over, with the doors, the insulation, some walls until one day the frustrated man who was left with only a shell tore down his entire home in frustration. That night a storm blew in, and he had no shelter to keep himself dry and warm. He began to wonder about looking for a place. He walked past his neighbor. The home looked comfortable and warm, but he knew better, he knew that warm home was only a facade, he had come to know of the bad windows, chimney, insulations and doors, so despite how happy the other man looked, he scoffed as he walked by. His pride would not allow him to knock on the door of the man who would have gladly shared his home. He wandered on. Eventually he ran into a dark shadow huddled in the rain. He approached, as the figure lifted his hood, he noticed the man who had been the expert on windows, doors and chimneys. “What, you have no home?” 

The man responded, “I tore mine down years ago.”