BUILD WISELY!

BUILD WISELY

 

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer contractor of his plants to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He didn’t use good materials and didn’t care much about the result.

When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. “this is your house,” he said, “my gift to you.”

What a shock! What a shame!  If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.

So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built.

Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the onlylife you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. The plaque on the wall says, “Life is a do it yourself project.”