A Parable on Selfishness

A certain man, Joe Doe, gained an especially terrible reputation for his selfishness to everyone around him. How Joe managed to keep a job and marry a wife was a mystery to most of those who were acquainted with him. Even his children began to dislike Joe. It was surprising they were not as selfish as he was.

Their longsuffering mother seemed to keep the children fairly in balance. Perhaps she would have left him long ago, if she didn't possess a goodly amount of unselfishness herself.

It seemed to his neighbors he went from bad to worse, day-by-day. They were expecting his wife to take the children and leave. Also, one wonders how Joe kept his job so long. Perhaps it was because he was left alone to work by himself. His fellow workers and his employer left him to himself almost all the time.
When they needed to talk to Joe or work with him they dreaded it.

No one wanted to treat him unkindly, but he would berate and yell at them no matter how hard they tried to be friendly. They pitied Joe and he knew it, and this made him angry.

After several years of putting up with his rudeness and greediness, things changed. It happened rather suddenly. He met a stranger. Joe Doe viewed the stranger with suspicion. This stranger perplexed him. He seemed odd--different than the rest of the people who appeared in his life. He couldn't figure out what it was which made him different.

Joe did notice the stranger took an interest in him. He was puzzled as the stranger acted as though he actually "liked" him. Even Joe's children didn't seem to like him, and he had come to realize this. His wife barely tolerated him, and his co-workers and neighbors avoided him almost completely. Joe knew he wasn't happy, but he blamed all this on everyone else.

This stranger actually made him feel just a bit better when he came around. He talked with Joe. The selfish man noticed he seemed interested in what interested him. It wasn't long before Joe managed more than "yes or no" to answer the stranger's questions. Once in awhile the stranger complimented Joe on what he was wearing or on something he had done well.

Very gradually, Joe began to change. At first, no one noticed it, but soon they couldn't help notice. His children began to receive a compliment once in awhile, and even Joe's wife appeared startled a few times to hear her selfish husband give her a compliment. One time, he brought her a small gift. He explained, "I liked the dish you made for dinner yesterday."

The stranger, from time to time, brought Joe a gift of an item he thought Joe would need. As the stranger's beautiful character began to be appreciated by Joe Doe, he seemed to enjoy copying him. His kindness and love, as you might say, rubbed off on Joe.

His fellow-workers started spending more time with Joe, as it seemed to them he was becoming more unselfish and loving than even they were. The day came when Joe's wife, his children, his neighbors, and his co-workers no longer thought of Joe as "Selfish Joe Doe." But they wondered what had made the great change.

Joe Doe told them about the Stranger. Many of them had never met Him yet. Joe introduced them to Him, one by one. Not all liked the Stranger. He made them feel guilty or uncomfortable, because of their own selfishness. Perhaps they weren't as bad as Joe had been, but they refused to change. They remained the same selfish individuals.

Have YOU met this kind, loving Stranger yet? Is He taking the selfishness out of your life? Are you allowing Him to do so?

Copyright 2011, Kathryn D. Search