Life is full of Golden Eggs
Aesop’s fable is eternal wisdom.
What would you do if you discovered a goose that lays golden eggs? Are you sure? What if you were to realize that there are many golden eggs laid for us every day and didn’t have a clue what they were? Everyone has the equivalent of a golden egg-laying goose in their life. The problem many have is that when they recognize this many of them squander these amazing gifts and blow it.
Aesop (c. 620-c. 560 bc), an ancient Greek writer of fables wrote one of my favorite children’s stories called “The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg”. Even though this story was written many years ago it is still just as powerful today.
My interpretation of the legendary fable goes like this:
One day a poor farmer discovers in the nest of his pet goose a glittering golden egg. At first, he thinks it must have been some kind of trick. But on second thought, he decides to take the egg and have it appraised.
The farmer can’t believe his good fortune. The egg is pure gold! He becomes even more excited the next day when the goose lays another golden egg. Day after day, he awakens to rush to the nest and find another golden egg. Soon he becomes fabulously wealthy.
It’s a two-way street when we take blessings for granted.
But with wealth comes greed and impatience. Unable to wait day after day for the golden eggs, the farmer decides to kill the goose and get them all at once. But when he opens the goose, he finds it empty. There are no golden eggs — and now there is no way to get any more. The farmer has destroyed the very thing that produced them.
Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction. Erich Fromm
The second lesson I thought of was how could a goose lay a golden egg? — It sounds ridiculous. Then it suddenly popped into my mind a question many non-believers ask about Jesus. The question is, “How can Jesus forgive our sins and give us eternal life?” Well, He is God and this is what He promised us. Aesop’s Fable centers on a poor farmer. This farmer was not deserving of his sudden wealth. You could say that the golden eggs were miracles, a gift, or an answered prayer. When the farmer became greedy and impatient he stopped being thankful for his blessing — He simply expected it. Then he demanded his blessing according to his timing and this resulted in him destroying the source of his blessing.
What I should have done.
I know that if something wonderful like that ever happened to me I would take care and nurture that goose more than anything else — at least that’s the way I believe I would act. That goose would be the first thing I would see every morning and the last thing I would see before I went to sleep. That goose would get the very best I could offer so it would be pleased with me from its feed to its accommodation. I would be constantly thankful for every blessing I ever received and just as thankful for every new one.
What I actually did.
My entire world was ripped from me when I reacted to feeling threatened. My wife, son, everyone I cared about, and everything I owned was squandered because of a terrible choice. Before you judge me and say you would never do what I did I am sure that upon reflection you can come up with some selfish choice you have made that negatively affected your life. It is all relative but, just the same, powerful to realize.
I see my relationship with God just like the poor farmer and the goose. Every golden egg is an answered prayer or blessing I don’t deserve. Faith is the proverbial goose. I want to spend time with God first thing in the morning and lastly at night. I want to give God my best and not take our relationship for granted. I have a distinct advantage over the farmer in that I know God has already promised me one big golden egg which is eternal life. Every other egg I get is a bonus.