Once upon a time, there was a rich merchant who had 4
wives. He loved his fourth wife the most, because she
was the most beautiful one amongst his other wives,
and gave her a lot of his riches and wealth.
This man was very proud of his third wife and always tried to
introduce her to all his friends, though he was always
worried if his wife would run away with other guy.
He loved his second wife very much, because she was
patient and understanding. Whenever he had problem, he
always asked for her opinion; she was the one he could
rely on. Through difficult times, the second wife
always helped and was always by her husband’s side.
His first wife was a faithful partner. She always
brought goodness for the family. She was the one who
took care and organized her husband’s business.
Unfortunately, the merchant did not love her that
much. Although the first wife loved the merchant so
much, he did not really care about her.
One day, the merchant was very sick and realized that he was going
to die soon; so he called for all his wives. He asked
his fourth wife, “You are the one I love the most, I
gave you beautiful dresses and jewelries. Would you
accompany me?” His wife was stuck shut, then she
answered him, “Of course I wouldn’t!” then she left
without another word. That answer hurt the merchant’s
heart so much. Then, he asked his third wife, “I too
love you with all my heart and, this time, my life
will be over. Would you go with me?” The wife
answered, “Life is so beautiful here, I will marry
again if you die.” The merchant was very struck with
her saying. Again, he asked his second wife, “I always
turned to you every time I have problems and you
always helped me. Now, I really need your help. If I
die, would you stand beside me?” The wife quietly
answered, “Please forgive me,” she said, “I cannot
help you this time. I can only see to your grave.
However, I’ll make a beautiful burial plot for you.”
The answer was like a striking lightning. The merchant
felt so hopeless. Suddenly, he heard a voice, “I will
stay with you. I’ll go wherever you go. I won’t leave
you, I’ll be faithful to you.” The merchant looked to
his side and saw his first wife there. She looked so
thin, like a person in starvation. Feeling very sorry,
the merchant whispered, “If only I could take care of
you while I could, you won’t look like this my wife.”
In this life, we all have 4 wives.
The fourth wife is our body. No matter how much time
and money we spent to make it look beautiful and
handsome, everything will be gone. It would quickly
leave us when we passed away. There will not be any
beauty left when we see Him face to face.
The third wife is our social status and wealth. When
we passed away, everything that we have will be
others’. It will leave and forget its owner.
Our second wife is our relatives and friends. No
matter how close our relationship to them, they will
not be with us forever. They will only accompany us to
our grave.
The first wife is our soul and truth. Maybe we often
ignore and forget about them for the sake of wealth
and our personal pleasure. However, the truth is that,
only our soul and our truth that will always be and be
faithful to us wherever we go. If our soul clings to
Jesus and we do good deeds in truth, it will lead us
to eternal life.
