Parable 32 - The Shoveler

Jackson coughed and then barked at his wife, “I don’t know why you hired him. He’s doing a sloppy job, and he’s not worth the $20 you’re paying him.”

Brianna tried to calm her husband. “Don’t work yourself up. You’ve got pneumonia, which means you have no business shoveling the snow off our driveway or sidewalk.”

“You don’t need to tell me that.”

“So, just be grateful that the neighbor kid stopped by to shovel for us. Twenty dollars is a small payment for what he is doing.”

It was hard for Jackson to accept this. He thought it was a waste of money. He kept looking out the window to see how the job was coming along. Jackson didn’t like how fast the young shoveler was going.

“He’s not paying attention to his work. That boy is actually throwing the snow on the section he just shoveled.”

Although some of the snow had fallen back on the sidewalk, the boy returned to those sections and cleaned them again. When he had finished shoveling the front sidewalk and the driveway, he started shoveling along the side of the house and then into the backyard.

Jackson thought he knew exactly what the boy was doing. He opened the back door and shouted at the kid. “Get out of the backyard! We’re not paying you any more money!”

The boy shouted back, “Don’t worry, sir. I don’t need any more money. I just thought it might be helpful if I shoveled all the way to your garbage can, to make it easier to get the garbage out on Wednesday.”

“Thanks, but we don’t need your help. My wife can take care of getting the can out just fine. You’re not getting any more money from me.”

Nodding his head, the neighbor boy went back to the front, did some touch-up work, and then rang the doorbell.

Brianna opened the door, gave him his money, and thanked him. As she closed the door, she turned toward her husband. “Did he do a good job?”

“He better have. He’s just a kid, and we paid him way more than he deserved.”

Meditation

Most of us probably don’t speak like Jackson, but sometimes our minds think like Jackson talks. If somebody is doing something more than expected, there has to be a catch. We don’t want to be tricked. We think we are being smart by being careful, or even cynical.

Today’s scripture quote comes from the Pharisee Nicodemus. When the other leaders are condemning Jesus, Nicodemus wonders if it’s wise to condemn someone before he speaks or before they see what he does. In hindsight, clearly the Pharisees were making a gigantic mistake.

Let’s look at our own situations, though. Wisdom is a key part of the art of discernment. Intuitively, it often seems wise not to trust people. We may think that we are stopping a bad outcome by prejudging, but ultimately, perhaps, we lose out on something positive.

It takes prayer and openness to new possibilities to know what to do.

Lent is a great time to practice this art of wise discernment. Those who shovel away pre-judgment have an easier time getting to the snow-covered garbage can. And let’s face it; we are all going to have to take out the trash.

Water the seed and ask yourself...

What is a wise decision I have made?