I have three stories to tell. Listen carefully.
There were two faculty members in a university. One was experienced, the other just out of graduate school. The experienced professor had taught many classes on campus and was well-versed in a variety of topics in her field. The new instructor was assigned a class and worked for weeks doing research, preparing the lectures and finding creative ways to teach the material. The quarter went splendidly. The students loved the class and gave it high reviews. But when the next year’s academic calendar was being prepared, the experienced professor asked to teach the course that the new teacher had developed, causing the new teacher to be assigned to a different course.
There were two respiratory therapists. One was at the peak of his career; his professional life was thriving. He was charismatic, efficient and told animated stories, much to the delight of his colleagues. The other therapist was quiet and thoughtful. She was a little unsure of herself and was struggling with family and health issues. Each day required determined effort to choose a positive attitude and serve her patients with compassion. She worked with integrity and was loved by all the staff on the three units where she was assigned. She developed personal relationships with the team and truly connected with them and her patients. But the charismatic therapist, looking on, couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of how she was loved. He thought that perhaps if he worked on those units, he too would experience the kinds of deep connections she had. So because he had seniority, he requested to be transferred to the pediatric areas, causing her to be transferred.
There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor. The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle. The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man’s own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest. – 2 Samuel 12:1-4, New International Version
Sometimes, while protecting ourselves, we end up hurting other people. We don’t do it intentionally, but our instinctual desire to look out for ourselves blinds us to the way we affect others.
What do you hear as you read these stories? Might there be another version of this parable that God wishes you to hear?
How would you finish the story? “There were. . .”
—Kathy McMillan is director of Employee Spiritual Care at Loma Linda University Medical Center.
