I was scrolling down my facebook feed today when my sister in laws post caught my eye.... this is what it said..
The Two Men
Two young men walking down a country road, happen upon an old fellow beside a covered bridge. The old man’s hat had been caught in the wind and blown atop the bridge. “Will you two help me? I can’t reach my hat. I’ve already tried and fallen several times. Now I am tired.”
The two young men looked at each oth...er. The first says, “I can get the hat!”
The other says, “Yes, you can. You are a far better climber than me.”
The man begins climbing and immediately falls on his face in front of the others. He looks up and says, “I’m a better climber than that. I will try again.”
His friend says, “Yes, you try. I am surely too clumsy and too heavy for the boards to hold me. You are light and strong. You can do it!” The man tries and fails again, each time falling harder than the last. Each time still asserting that he will get the hat.
The old man looks at the other standing beside him and says, “Your friend is tired and cut up and bruised. Are you not going to help him?”
“Oh, I want to, but like I said I’m very clumsy and too heavy. I’m humble enough to know my limitations,” he said with a chuckle.
“Or perhaps,” the old man said, “you are so prideful you think you couldn’t bare to fall on your face, and you are so weak you know that if you did you would never get up and try again. It is pride that keeps you on the ground, not humility. And it is humility which tells your friend to keep trying despite falling in the dirt twenty times. A truly humble man will fall on his face as many times as it takes to reach his goal. A prideful man sets no goals at all for fear of falling on his face.”
The young man dropped his head in shame right as his friend let out a yell of victory from the top of the bridge. He waved the hat around and tossed it to the ground. He scrambled down, shook the old man’s hand and they parted ways.
The two young men walked on down the road, one full of joy over the thing he had conquered and the other burdened under the weight of his false humility which kept him clean, unhurt and defeated.-----
Sarah Reeves
I had a huge " Thou art the woman " moment. It hit me like a ton of bricks that that is exactly how I handle certain things in my life.... I even mentioned a situation to a friend on here less than a week ago where I must have sounded just like the cowardly friend. I've been using certain fears to protect me from failing . With the Lords help I will overcome these things. My question to you is...... which man are you ?
