The Two Misers
“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdest more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty” (Prov. 11:24)
A teacher was once relating the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, and he asked: “Now which would you rather be, boys, the rich man or Lazarus?”
One boy answered, “I would rather be the rich man while I live, and Lazarus when I die.”
This reminds me of the story I read of a wealthy farmer in the state of New York. He was a noted miser, but he was converted. Soon after his conversion, a poor man who had been burned out by a disastrous fire came to him for help. The farmer thought he would be liberal and give the man a ham from his smokehouse. But on his way to the little building, the tempter whispered, “Give him the smallest one you have.”
Then and there he had a struggle whether he would give the poor man a small one or a large one. Finally he took down the largest ham he could find.
“Fool! Fool! You are a fool!” the devil screamed.
“If you don’t keep still,” the converted farmer replied, “I will give him every ham I have in that smokehouse!”
Needless to say the converted miser won his first battle with our adversary. Yet how often folk without any miserly reputation may be taken unaware by Satan in just these same situations. One does not need to be rich to become miserly. The miser is simply one who “withholds more than is meet”; one who for that reason is always tending toward poverty himself.
A teacher was once relating the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, and he asked: “Now which would you rather be, boys, the rich man or Lazarus?”
One boy answered, “I would rather be the rich man while I live, and Lazarus when I die.”
This reminds me of the story I read of a wealthy farmer in the state of New York. He was a noted miser, but he was converted. Soon after his conversion, a poor man who had been burned out by a disastrous fire came to him for help. The farmer thought he would be liberal and give the man a ham from his smokehouse. But on his way to the little building, the tempter whispered, “Give him the smallest one you have.”
Then and there he had a struggle whether he would give the poor man a small one or a large one. Finally he took down the largest ham he could find.
“Fool! Fool! You are a fool!” the devil screamed.
“If you don’t keep still,” the converted farmer replied, “I will give him every ham I have in that smokehouse!”
Needless to say the converted miser won his first battle with our adversary. Yet how often folk without any miserly reputation may be taken unaware by Satan in just these same situations. One does not need to be rich to become miserly. The miser is simply one who “withholds more than is meet”; one who for that reason is always tending toward poverty himself.