Galatians 5:13–14 says, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Well, it’s also Jesus’ second commandment, told to a lawyer in Matthew 22:39 (“And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself," with his first commandment being to love God with all your heart, soul and mind.) But it is unlikely for someone to be judged as loving God if they don’t love their neighbor as well, since that’s what God wants.
So, it is no surprise that de-facto parables such as The Rich Man and Lazarus exist in the Bible. It illustrates the opposite of not loving your neighbor, as the Rich Man in all his finery ignores the neediness of Lazarus in Luke 16:19–21. In that parable, the rich man ends up in the underworld while Lazarus ends up with God. Which sort of brings us to the Spoons.
Some say the story of the spoons illustrates Galatians 5:13–14, though its origin not found in the Bible. Ironically, it is attributed to a Rabbi, who may not have quoted from the New Testament.
The rough version of the story goes as follows: Two groups of people have passed away, with one group going to the underworld and the other group going to Heaven. The caretaker in the underworld gives each person a spoon whose handle is so long that it is impossible for a person to place the spoon in his own mouth. The story from the underworld ends right there, with nobody able to feed themselves. And the same selfishness they exhibited while on earth, like the rich man showed with Lazarus, is the selfishness that is preventing them from seeking a solution to their predicament as they remain hungry.
In Heaven, on the other hand, the other group is also given long spoons. These people made a practice of loving their neighbor, and it didn’t take long for them to seek a solution amongst themselves. They determined that while they can’t feed themselves with their spoons, they can feed others who are sitting on the other side of the table since they’re at a distance in which a spoon from someone sitting on the opposite side can easily fit into their mouths with that person on the opposite side holding it. All of them lived with loving their neighbor, so it was very easy for them to seek a solution in which everyone gets fed and therefore become full with food.
Two peoples exist on earth. There are those who are selfish enough that they wouldn’t think of interacting with others to seek solutions to problems, and there are those who are inclined to love their neighbors, so their interactions with others yield more fruit with everyone in a win-win situation. That also happens to be the Christian way of addressing issues. One can venture that there is no room for someone in this crowd to make a ‘fast buck,’ followed by making a run for it to avoid fulfilling any obligations, moral or otherwise.
So, it is no surprise that de-facto parables such as The Rich Man and Lazarus exist in the Bible. It illustrates the opposite of not loving your neighbor, as the Rich Man in all his finery ignores the neediness of Lazarus in Luke 16:19–21. In that parable, the rich man ends up in the underworld while Lazarus ends up with God. Which sort of brings us to the Spoons.
Some say the story of the spoons illustrates Galatians 5:13–14, though its origin not found in the Bible. Ironically, it is attributed to a Rabbi, who may not have quoted from the New Testament.
The rough version of the story goes as follows: Two groups of people have passed away, with one group going to the underworld and the other group going to Heaven. The caretaker in the underworld gives each person a spoon whose handle is so long that it is impossible for a person to place the spoon in his own mouth. The story from the underworld ends right there, with nobody able to feed themselves. And the same selfishness they exhibited while on earth, like the rich man showed with Lazarus, is the selfishness that is preventing them from seeking a solution to their predicament as they remain hungry.
In Heaven, on the other hand, the other group is also given long spoons. These people made a practice of loving their neighbor, and it didn’t take long for them to seek a solution amongst themselves. They determined that while they can’t feed themselves with their spoons, they can feed others who are sitting on the other side of the table since they’re at a distance in which a spoon from someone sitting on the opposite side can easily fit into their mouths with that person on the opposite side holding it. All of them lived with loving their neighbor, so it was very easy for them to seek a solution in which everyone gets fed and therefore become full with food.
Two peoples exist on earth. There are those who are selfish enough that they wouldn’t think of interacting with others to seek solutions to problems, and there are those who are inclined to love their neighbors, so their interactions with others yield more fruit with everyone in a win-win situation. That also happens to be the Christian way of addressing issues. One can venture that there is no room for someone in this crowd to make a ‘fast buck,’ followed by making a run for it to avoid fulfilling any obligations, moral or otherwise.
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