Mirror, Mirror
A very rich man lived in a certain country. Because the economy
of that nation had been battered by a series of regional wars,
droughts, and government scandals, many of the people of the
country were extremely poor.
Fortunately, the man who was rich was also quite generous. With
the blessings and encouragement of his wife, he spent a considerable
portion of his wealth on those whose material circumstances often
were bordering on the edge of disaster and who, as a result, needed
help just to stay alive.
Numerous people were of the opinion that if not for the
charitable nature of this man, many families in the country would
have perished. Whatever the truth of this opinion might have been,
no one doubted the importance of this man’s contributions to
promoting the general welfare of the country.
Rather than have his employees distribute his financial and
material gifts, the rich man liked to take his wife, travel about the
country, learn about people who were in need, and give to these
people in a quiet way so the latter individuals would not be
embarrassed publicly due to their impoverished status. The man
spent half the year engaged in his various businesses, and the other
half of the year was devoted to acts of charity.
Because of his kind and generous nature, he became a beloved
figure. Everyone was happy to see him and his wife since the people
knew that the couple’s appearance soon would be followed by help
being given to the needy families in the area.
During one of their charitable forays s, as the couple approached
a certain area of the country, they stopped at a local restaurant.
While eating their meal, they couldn’t help overhearing part of a
conversation in the booth behind them.
Apparently, someone in the next town was claiming to be a
source of greater charity than the rich man and his wife. Since the
couple had never heard of anyone else in the country helping the
poor of the country to the extent they were doing, the two were
somewhat mystified by what they were hearing.
In addition, the rich man was a little saddened to hear the news.
He felt guilty for the trace of sadness that was present, but, being
human, he had taken a certain amount of pride in his charitable
work, and, therefore, the idea that someone else might be out-doing
him in such activities generated a small amount of envy in him
toward this individual about whom they were hearing as they were
quietly eating.
The man decided that he would investigate this matter further
when they arrived at the town in question. He would send out
discreet inquiries concerning what he had heard and see if could
learn anything further.
Upon arriving in the town, the couple went to the hotel where
they had standing reservations during such visits. They settled in,
and the man set his plan in motion.
The following day, one of the people whom the rich man had
approached for purposes of learning more about his rival in charity,
phoned and said he had looked into the matter as requested and had
been able to discover a name and address for the person being sought
by the rich man. The information was given, and the rich man
decided that tomorrow he would make some excuse to his wife, set off
on his own, and see if he could meet with the man about whom he
had heard in the restaurant.
Since the town was not that large, the rich man didn’t require a
great deal of time to locate the address he had been given. However,
he was rather surprised because the house at which he arrived was
in the poorest part of the community.
He knocked on the door, and only a few seconds passed before
the knob turned and the door was opened. An elderly man in ragged
clothes stood before him.
The rich man said: “Are you Mr. Davis -- Carl Davis?”
The elderly man nodded in the affirmative and replied: “To
whom do I owe my gratitude for having visited my humble home?”
The rich man identified himself, and a look of recognition raced
across the old man’s face. The poor man added: “Please, come in.
I’ve been expecting you.”
The rich man stepped through the entrance and saw a room
which was as shabbily furnished as the owner’s clothes were tattered.
The older man invited his guest to a chair near a wooden table, and
when the rich man was seated, the host became busy with making tea
and putting together a small bowl of fruit.
While the old man was preparing some refreshments, the rich
man became preoccupied with wondering how his host had known
he was coming. Had one of the people whom he had asked to make
discreet inquiries slipped up somewhere and, somehow, word of the
rich man’s interests had made its way back to the elderly gentleman
who was puttering about the room?
The old man brought the things he was preparing to the table
and encouraged the rich man to select whatever he liked, saying:
“I’m sorry, there is not much to offer, but, whatever I have I am very
happy to share with you.”
The rich man waved his hands in a way that suggested he was
content with whatever his host had prepared. The two ate in silence
for a short while.
Not knowing quite how to broach the subject in which he was
interested, the rich man spoke about the weather and asked a few
questions about his host’s family. The poor man responded with
polite but brief replies.
Finally, the rich man said: “You know, on the way to this town,
I stopped in a restaurant and, quite by accident, I and my wife
overheard a very interesting conversation in the booth next to out,
and believe it or not, you seemed to be the topic of that
conversation.”
“Oh,” said the poor man. “I can’t image why anyone would be
talking about me.”
“Well,” exclaimed the rich man, “forgive me for saying this,
since I see that you are a very humble person, but the people who
were talking were saying you had been making claims that you were
a greater source of charity than I and my wife, and, I thought I
would try to meet with the sort of individual being described by those
people and see what truth there was to the story.”
Looking around the room, the rich man continued on with: “I
feel certain that someone is playing a trick on you, or trying to create
difficulties for you.”
The old man replied: “What you heard in the restaurant is true.
I have made such claims.”
The rich man looked, in a rather bemused manner, at the man
sitting across from him. “Mr. Davis,” he said, “I’m not trying to be
rude, but unless these surroundings are a rather elaborate charade
of some sort, I really don’t see how you possibly could believe you are
a greater source of charity than I am.”
“Yes,” the old man responded, “I can well appreciate why you
might come to such a conclusion, but I believe you misunderstand the
real nature of charity. For while it is true that you and your wife are
very generous to poor people such as myself, what you do not seem
to grasp is that whatever you give to us in the way of material or
financial help is used up in a very short period of time, whereas the
blessings which come to you through us, by virtue of our being
recipients of your generosity, lasts an eternity. If we were not poor,
you would have no one to whom to be generous to, and, therefore,
you would lose the blessings which come via such acts. Therefore, by
being poor, we give opportunities of blessings for you which are far
more spiritually enduring and beneficial than any of the financial or
material gifts you may give to us.
The old man paused briefly, and, then, asked: “So, is it not true
that I, and people like me, are a far greater source of charity than
you are? Is it not true that far more, in the way of blessings, comes
to you through us than comes to us through you?”
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