When I was in first grade, we had a teacher’s aide who came from Hawaii. At the end of her term, which I recall was not at the end of the year but sometime before then, perhaps at the end of the first semester, she told us she was going back to Hawaii. We had a farewell party for her at which she shared with us some Hawaiian candy as well as a story which she said she had heard when she was growing up. Years later, I realize the story is a folk story which is told in a variety of forms in various cultures, and yet, I expect, if I perfectly recalled all that she had said (I do not), I expect she included many elements which were unique to the Hawaiian version which she told us.
Sadly, I do not remember everything she said, but I do remember the general details of the story, what I thought about it at the time, and how I came to appreciate the story in a way I originally did not. It is a story with an important message, one which is in accord with some things Jesus preached about, while also the kind of story which is told to children in order to both entertain and teach them the kind of character they should possess.
I will try to give the basics of the story here, supplementing what I remember with enough details to render it self-consistent. As I do not remember the name of its protagonist, I will call him, for the sake of this retelling, James. Supposedly James was a man of low character; he basically lived his life selfishly, concerned about satisfying his own desires, doing whatever it takes to do so, even if it meant he would end up harming others. He stole, he bullied people, and though he never did, he was willing to kill others to get what he wanted. He treated everyone around him poorly, always getting into fights, but yet, despite that, he thought highly of himself, and was always telling others how great a person he thought he was. It would be difficult for one looking at him and watching him live to find any good deed he had done, which is why, when he died, he found himself in hell. And yet, in his life, he once showed some little kindness to another: he saw he was about to step on an ant, and instead of doing so, he stepped over it, and then picked up the ant and helped move it out of the way of others, making sure it could live another day.
Thanks to that one good deed, his guardian angel petitioned God, saying that James had not been entirely evil; he had done one good deed in his life and because of it, he had the potential to grow in charity and overcome his evil character. The angel asked God to give James a chance, to let him into heaven. God did as the angel asked, and sent down a rope right next to James, a rope which went from heaven all the way to hell. James’ guardian angel then told James, “This rope is for you. If you climb it, you can make your way to heaven.”
Upon seeing the rope and hearing what his angel had told him, James looked up, saw the rope led all the way to heaven, and so started climbing up. When he was half-way between heaven and hell, he took a break, and during that break, he looked down, and saw, near the bottom of the rope, there were others starting to climb it as well. This upset James. He thought the rope was meant for him and him alone. “Hey you down there,” he yelled. “Get off my rope! This is for me alone!.” None of the people climbing up listened to him; they continued on climbing. Annoyed, he decided the only thing he could do was make sure none of them were able to follow after him, and so, using his hands, he started tearing into the rope beneath him, and with a little bit of time, he was able to have the rope break, sending all those who were following after him back down into hell.
James’ guardian angel was horrified at what James had done. His actions showed that he had not changed. He was looking after himself, thinking he alone deserved every benefit and jealously guarded anything he received by making sure no one else could benefit from his own good fortune. The one good deed, the one which allowed him to have the rope, was undermined by what he had done. He did not let charity grow in him and reform him, but rather, his own selfishness, his own self-centeredness grew. The angel took out a sword, and did to James what James had done to everyone else: the angel cut the rope so that James could not reach heaven, but rather, fall back down into hell as well.
I know the teacher’s aide told the story with skill, adding charming elements to it, telling it better than I did above. What I wanted to recount were the highlights of the story. At the time, I didn’t think much about the story, but thanks to my theological exploration since then, I find the story presents in a popular form one of the messages Jesus gave throughout his preaching: what we do to others, the kind of treatment and judgment we make of others, will come back upon us. This is a message which, I fear, many of us have forgotten or ignore. We want grace for ourselves. We want God to help us. But we want it for ourselves alone. We want everyone else to work hard to get what we have got. Such an attitude, however, runs contrary to the way Christ told us to be, and indeed, we have been warned that if we hold it, we risk losing all the gracious gifts God is willing to grant us. If we are not charitable and willing to forgive others, we will lose out on the charity which we need, and so, will not receive forgiveness for what we have done. This is especially clear in the story of a man who was told that his king was willing to forgive his debts: instead of sharing with others the mercy he received, the man thanked the king and then went to those who owed him many, and demanded them to pay it back our suffer the consequences (being sent to prison) for not doing so. As a result, the king was upset, and made sure the man was sent to prison, where he would be forced to work off all the debts he owed. The point Jesus was making is the same point of the Hawaiian story: when we receive mercy and grace, we should not jealously hold onto it, trying to make sure no one else can be aided in and through the good shown to us, but rather, we should be willing to share with others that which we are given, and if we do not, we risk losing that which we have received. Thus, for example, if we are lifted out of poverty, thanks to some governmental program, we should be happy if others also receive similar aid — what we should not do is try to stop those programs, making sure no one after us can get out of the poverty the same way we have. We should do what we can to make sure those in similar (or worse) situations we were in find the aid they need to get out of them instead of making it much more difficult for them to find relief. The true Christian spirit is one of benevolence, and this spirit of charity should be found in all that we do. And, as this story suggests, or what Jesus told us throughout his ministry, if we find a way to excuse ourselves from acting out of such charity, we risk losing the charity which we have received. Let us heed the warning before it is too late.
*Personal Reflections And Speculations
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