The Recognized Ban of Relationship

There once was an old woman who lived in a vinegar bottle. She used to sit on her front steps and complain, "Oh, what a pity! What a pity, pity, pity, that I should live in a tiny house such as this. Why, I should be living in a charming cottage with a thatched roof and roses growing up the sides. That's what I deserve."

Bit of a frivolous allusion for a blog on My Utmost, I admit, but a) I wanted to see if anyone was awake out there; and b) this fable, which my children and I memorized at a storytelling seminar long ago, popped into my mind when I read today's passage from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. Fortunately for the old woman, a fairy happened by and gave her just what she wanted -- a cottage. Unfortunately (fortunately/unfortunately stories were another of my children's favorites helping to pass long hours on car trips), the old woman was not satisfied. The fairy continues to cater to this old woman's upwardly mobile desires until, at last, she is not content to be the emperor of the entire world living in a grand palace and ends up right back in the vinegar bottle. "That," says the fairy, "is just what she deserves."

Today's reading and the corresponding Bible passage were both difficult -- difficult to understand and difficult to apply: "Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world," I Corinthians 4:13. In context, Paul seems to be scolding the church for believing itself to be better than the apostles themselves: "We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour, we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless," vv. 9-11.

I don't think of myself as greedy, but then I consider the old woman in the vinegar bottle. Her first request didn't seem out of line -- a small cottage instead of a vinegar bottle. Who could begrudge her that? Her desires were small, incremental improvements, but she was never satisfied. Can I be completely satisfied at this moment -- even willing to give up pieces of my comfortable life rather than looking for more? Can I? Paul writes, "I urge you to imitate me."

Barbara