Christian Unity -- Interlude

One of Aesop's fables reads like this: An old man and his son were bringing a donkey to the market. As they passed some people, they heard someone say, "Look at those two, they are walking when they could be riding." The idea made sense to the old man and his son so they both mounted the donkey and began to ride.

A little while later they passed some more people. Someone commented, "Look at those lazy people. They are breaking the back of that poor donkey." Upon hearing this comment the old man dismounted from the donkey and let his son continue to ride.

As they traveled along they met yet another group of people. From the crowd someone yelled, "What a terrible thing, this old man walking while the boy gets to ride." Such a comment made the old man and his son switch places.

Farther down the road they met still another group of people and someone said, "That is horrible. The big, strong man riding while the poor boy has to walk. The old man and his son pondered the situation and finally continued their journey in yet another manner, carrying the donkey on a pole between them. As they crossed the bridge, the donkey broke loose, fell into the river, and drowned.

Moral of the story: if you try to please everyone, you'll lose your ...