Be Salt & Light Blog | Written by Jaymi Firestone

Growing up as a young Christian, I always had preconceived ideas of other religions. I didn’t take the time to understand or even learn about them until I was well into my adulthood.

What I realized through my learning was that while other religions don’t all fundamentally believe in God, they do believe in the good of humanity, the good in people.

I’m not here to diminish the fact that God is all-powerful, and very real, but other religions aren’t all bad either.

I say this because there was a story I heard this week, and while the origination came from a religion outside of Christianity, the lesson is completely relevant to our Christian walks.

“Once, there was a King who had four wives. He become very ill and was about to die.

At the end of his life, he felt very lonely, so asked the first wife, the wife he loved the most, to die with him.

‘My dear wife,’ he said, ‘I loved you day and night, I took care of you throughout my life. Will you die with me?’

He expected her to answer yes. But she answered, ‘No I can’t do that, I know you always loved me, but you are going to die. This is where I leave you.’

He was very saddened, so he called his second wife, whom he was very proud of. She was the wife he showed off to neighboring kingdoms. He called her to his bedside and begged her to follow him in death. He said, ‘My dear second wife, you know how I loved you. Sometimes I was afraid you might leave me, but I held onto you strongly. My dear, please die with me.’

The second wife expressed, ‘Dear husband, I cannot do that. I love my life too much, and when you die, I’m going to remarry.’

Lying in his deathbed, he called for his third wife, the one who had always been there for him in his times of need, and asked her to die with him. But she replied, with tears in her eyes, ‘My dear, I pity you and I feel sad for myself. So I will arrange and attend your funeral. This is my last duty as your wife.’ So, the third wife also refused to die with him.

Three wives had refused to join him in his death. He was so weary and felt very lonely, then he recalled that there was one more wife, his fourth, who he never paid much attention to.

He now thought that if he asked her to join him in dying, she certainly would say no, and was so embarrassed at how he had treated her. But his loneliness and fear was so severe that he made the effort to ask her anyway.

The fourth wife gladly accepted her husband’s request.

‘My dear husband,’ she said, ‘I will go with you. Whatever happens, I will be with you forever.”

This is where the story ends.

Once you understand its meaning, you’ll see the wisdom behind it. It’s symbolism reminds me a lot of Jesus’ parables. A lesson within the words of a simple story. This is how the symbolism applies to us…

The first ‘wife’ is our body. We take care of our bodies every day. We wash them, wear beautiful jewelry and clothes. We feed our body. We do everything we can to take care of it. But, at the end of our life, like the wife in the story, our body can’t follow us when we pass. It fades away when we do.

The second ‘wife’ is representative of our possessions. There is no limit to the amount of things we try to attain during this life. We want more money, property, fame. We spend all of our time trying to gather more material blessings. But, much like our bodies, our possessions can’t follow us. They will be given away and divided among other people, just like the second wife said she would remarry.

The third wife of this symbolic tale represents our friends and family. We trust them. They are always there in times of need, but the furthest they can go with us is to our funeral to give us a respectful send off.

Finally, the fourth wife represents our soul. We usually neglect taking care of our soul, but that is the only part of us that goes with us after we die. Our soul is the only part that we take with us.

So, care for your body, keep it healthy. Enjoy your possessions and the comfort they provide. Cherish your friends and family for the love that they provide. But don’t forget to take care of your soul.

Nourish your soul by seeking God

Take time to be alone with Him. Take time to pray. Because He is the source of all we live for, and our most faithful friend.