The parable of the little camp site.

I cannot lie…i stole this from my dad, but since he does not have a blog it is now mine by default.

What if a rich entrepreneur staged a little challenge for you and 99 other people. He brought you out to a little camp site of 1 room cottages, 100 of them …. They over-looked a gorgeous hillside on the ocean. There are 10,000 acres on that hillside overlooking the ocean, he says. I will give you each a 100 acre plot under one condition—that you take the next 3 months and gather enough material to build a mansion worthy of that property. If the material you gather can be erected into a magnificent home, I will deed the property over to you. And by the way, I will pay for all the materials. You can live in these little cottages temporarily while you plan and purchase and organize. You have 90 days beginning first thing tomorrow. The first week, everyone was gone, off to Home Depot and the lumber yard and the stone quarries. Lots to do and progress to be made. Early that Sunday evening, the folks were noticing one off the little cottages got a shinny new set of shutters. It was a nice touch and spruced the place up a bit. It really must have impressed the people next door because the very next day, they laid a whole bunch of slate down next to the front stairs of their little cottage. The neighbors all sat out that night on the new patio and had a cold one. It was great. With all the shopping going on, a deal here and there for the cottage was tough to pass up. Things got a bit more serious when the people on the corner added a whole new room to their cottage—a TV room—wow what great idea. Soon, the little camp site was abuzz with all the construction going on. Hammers and saws and backhoes for the in-ground pool. It was a flurry of activity from dawn til dusk. In no time at all that little camp site could rival any first class resort this side of the Delaware river. You would not recognize the place. Well the 90 days came quicker than anyone anticipated and with all the running around for the little cottage, not much effort was able to be devoted to the ocean front project. But when the rich owner returned right on time and demanded all preparation and gathering cease, he couldn’t help gasping at the transformation of the little cottages. This is wonderful he exclaimed, but everyone of you must move out and leave all this behind. I’m having this bulldozed in the morning. Let’s take a look at what you’ve gathered for the other side. You guessed it, not one house was ever built on the side of the ocean cliff. Most of the materials had ended up in the cottages. It’s a lot like us with eternity…. All this effort on the temporary cottage, but how much are we throwing to the other side? I think we just don’t understand the concept. Maybe it’s too simple.