NO JOB IS GREATER THAN THE NEXT

There was an Old Persian fable of a hen, a mouse, and a rabbit that lived together in a little house in the woods. They shared all the work and lived in harmony. The chicken found the firewood, the mouse brought the water from a nearby brook, and the rabbit cooked the meals. All the three did their own work faithfully and contentedly. One day, while the hen was out in the forest looking for wood, a nosy crow approached her, and asked what she was doing. When he heard, the crow began caw, telling the hen that she did the hardest part of the work, and that rabbit and mouse were taking advantage of her. The chicken continued to do her work, but she couldn’t stop thinking about what the crow said. These feelings festered and festered, and by the time she got home, she was so upset that she burst out in tears, screaming, “It’s not fair! I do the hardest work of the three of us! That’s it! I’m not going to gather this heavy firewood anymore!” Immediately the rabbit and mouse also continued to argue that they had been doing the hardest work until they were tired, and finally decided to switch jobs. From now on the rabbit would gather the firewood, the hen would bring the water, and the mouse would cook. As the rabbit hopped into the forest for wood, a fox trailed him, caught him, and ate him. The hen put the pail into the creek, but current pulled the pail down under, and the hen with it. The mouse, while sitting on the edge of the big pot of soup, lost his balance and fell in. Discontentment not only destroyed their happiness, but even their lives. We all have a job to do here. No job is greater than the next — no person is greater than the next, no matter what those crows might tell you. We are all working for the same King, and we can worship Him even while gathering firewood, if that’s what He’s called us to do! “Let your conduct be without covetousness; and be content with such things as you have: for He has said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).