Brad Huber
Loyal
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2012
- Messages
- 4,441
The tale of the Grasping Man
There was a good father who had a son. The son, like most young children, would grasp and tightly hold onto things,
often putting them in his mouth to taste. So the father was careful to not let his son get his hands on something
that was bad for him. But one the occasions when the boy did grasp something bad, the father would take it away,
pointing at it, and proclaiming "Bad! Bad!"
As the child grew into a young man, his desire for more things grew as well. His father gave him many of the
things he desired, but not all. He also strongly advocated kindness, charity, and a good work ethic to his son.
The child got in trouble a few times, but was rarely punished much, as his dad was the school counsellor at his
school.
The young man grew into an adult, becoming an executive for a leading company. He made a very good salary but
he worked hard for it, often working long hours, and cutting corners to show up his co-workers and competitors.
Many women were interested in him, but he only allowed other top executive ladies into his life, and eventually he
did marry. His wife soon retired after being married awhile, to stay home and take care of the children they had
planned for and already had a child soon to be born. The man had accumulated many things in his life, but his
health soon gave away to a heart attack which left him too weak to work. Shortly after that, he was diagnosed with
cancer and given less than a year to live.
As he lay on his death bed, his father, whom he had neglected later in life, showed up to comfort him. "Dad, I'm
glad you are here. My wife doesnt spend the time here that I need her to, to ensure that my son is taken care of
with the portfolio I built up. She keeps making excuses about my kid taking up her time, and MY time is running
out." His father asked how good his portfolio was, and the son went on to say that he had one and a half million
stocked away in a combination of investments with an annual payout of $50 thousand on a million of it, and the other
half a million in more risky investments designed to bring in more working capital. The father responded that the
son's portfolio already sounded pretty good. The son responded, "Thanks dad, but I need my laptop setup, and
someone to watch my investments, so that I can buy or sell as needed on the riskier stuff. I really need a firm
hands on approach to my things."
His father had a sad look on his face as he said, "Son, I love you so much. I know you've been busy with
your career, so I had stopped asking you to do something together. But I have to say, this isnt the type of
father/son stuff I was hoping to do with you. You are the smartest man I know about business and making more
money from what you have. But you have always had this problem with things. You have a hard time letting go
of material things, and had difficulty cultivating good relationships with people. If you want me to keep an
eye on your investments, I can do that at home. I just want to talk and catch up on our lives for now."
The son sighed and reached to his laptop on the nightstand close by, but he was too weak to pick it up.
But he woudnt take his grasping hand away from it.
"Son! ... son, please let it go. No matter how important that is to you, its meaningless toward the
eternity you are about to enter into. I promise to do my best to help you with your portfolio, but its time to
talk about your spiritual portfolio. You are about to retire from the physical world and your spiritual
portfolio is empty. Its not too late son, ... Please... let go!
Sad story, but all too common in todays world. People dont want to let go of less important things, and want
increase their material portfolio more than their spiritual one. What in life is our Father in heaven telling
YOU to let something go? If he is telling you such, trust him and let it go. Cast your cares on Him, for He
cares for you and will not let you fall.
There was a good father who had a son. The son, like most young children, would grasp and tightly hold onto things,
often putting them in his mouth to taste. So the father was careful to not let his son get his hands on something
that was bad for him. But one the occasions when the boy did grasp something bad, the father would take it away,
pointing at it, and proclaiming "Bad! Bad!"
As the child grew into a young man, his desire for more things grew as well. His father gave him many of the
things he desired, but not all. He also strongly advocated kindness, charity, and a good work ethic to his son.
The child got in trouble a few times, but was rarely punished much, as his dad was the school counsellor at his
school.
The young man grew into an adult, becoming an executive for a leading company. He made a very good salary but
he worked hard for it, often working long hours, and cutting corners to show up his co-workers and competitors.
Many women were interested in him, but he only allowed other top executive ladies into his life, and eventually he
did marry. His wife soon retired after being married awhile, to stay home and take care of the children they had
planned for and already had a child soon to be born. The man had accumulated many things in his life, but his
health soon gave away to a heart attack which left him too weak to work. Shortly after that, he was diagnosed with
cancer and given less than a year to live.
As he lay on his death bed, his father, whom he had neglected later in life, showed up to comfort him. "Dad, I'm
glad you are here. My wife doesnt spend the time here that I need her to, to ensure that my son is taken care of
with the portfolio I built up. She keeps making excuses about my kid taking up her time, and MY time is running
out." His father asked how good his portfolio was, and the son went on to say that he had one and a half million
stocked away in a combination of investments with an annual payout of $50 thousand on a million of it, and the other
half a million in more risky investments designed to bring in more working capital. The father responded that the
son's portfolio already sounded pretty good. The son responded, "Thanks dad, but I need my laptop setup, and
someone to watch my investments, so that I can buy or sell as needed on the riskier stuff. I really need a firm
hands on approach to my things."
His father had a sad look on his face as he said, "Son, I love you so much. I know you've been busy with
your career, so I had stopped asking you to do something together. But I have to say, this isnt the type of
father/son stuff I was hoping to do with you. You are the smartest man I know about business and making more
money from what you have. But you have always had this problem with things. You have a hard time letting go
of material things, and had difficulty cultivating good relationships with people. If you want me to keep an
eye on your investments, I can do that at home. I just want to talk and catch up on our lives for now."
The son sighed and reached to his laptop on the nightstand close by, but he was too weak to pick it up.
But he woudnt take his grasping hand away from it.
"Son! ... son, please let it go. No matter how important that is to you, its meaningless toward the
eternity you are about to enter into. I promise to do my best to help you with your portfolio, but its time to
talk about your spiritual portfolio. You are about to retire from the physical world and your spiritual
portfolio is empty. Its not too late son, ... Please... let go!
Sad story, but all too common in todays world. People dont want to let go of less important things, and want
increase their material portfolio more than their spiritual one. What in life is our Father in heaven telling
YOU to let something go? If he is telling you such, trust him and let it go. Cast your cares on Him, for He
cares for you and will not let you fall.
