© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.
Many years ago, during a terrible desert war in the Middle East, a spy was captured and sentenced to death by a wise old Persian warlord. Despite the harsh sentence, the warlord was actually a man of mercy and compassion.
Over the years he had adopted a strange custom. In death penalty cases, he would allow the condemned a choice of a quick death by firing squad or take his chances by passing through a mysterious black door. As the moment of execution drew near, the warlord ordered the frightened spy be brought before him. "What have you chosen? Will it be the firing squad or the black door?"
It was a terrible decision for the prisoner to make. Each time he moved close to the massive black door, his trembling hand stopped short of the key. Finally he informed the warlord that he much preferred the firing squad to the unknown horrors that might lurk in the shadows behind that mysterious black door.
A few minutes later, a volley of rifle shots signaled that the sentence had been carried out. The old warlord, gazing off to the distant horizon, turned to his aide and said, "You see how
it is with people; they will always prefer the known to the unknown. That man went quietly to his death even though I gave him a choice."
The aide asked, "What lies behind the black door?"
"Freedom," replied the warlord, "and I've known very few men brave enough to take it."
How many times has fear of the unknown kept from enjoying life? The future is often as scary as that "black door." Let's embrace life with confidence!
Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 3 (2005).
Over the years he had adopted a strange custom. In death penalty cases, he would allow the condemned a choice of a quick death by firing squad or take his chances by passing through a mysterious black door. As the moment of execution drew near, the warlord ordered the frightened spy be brought before him. "What have you chosen? Will it be the firing squad or the black door?"
It was a terrible decision for the prisoner to make. Each time he moved close to the massive black door, his trembling hand stopped short of the key. Finally he informed the warlord that he much preferred the firing squad to the unknown horrors that might lurk in the shadows behind that mysterious black door.
A few minutes later, a volley of rifle shots signaled that the sentence had been carried out. The old warlord, gazing off to the distant horizon, turned to his aide and said, "You see how
it is with people; they will always prefer the known to the unknown. That man went quietly to his death even though I gave him a choice."
The aide asked, "What lies behind the black door?"
"Freedom," replied the warlord, "and I've known very few men brave enough to take it."
How many times has fear of the unknown kept from enjoying life? The future is often as scary as that "black door." Let's embrace life with confidence!
Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 3 (2005).
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