Hello,
My name is Nicole Karping-Pavaz and today I'm going to share a parable with you about a rich merchant who had four wives.
The man thinks that he's ranked his brides in order of their value and how much he loves them but when he finds himself gravely ill and facing death the true identity of each of his wives holds a valuable lesson for him and quite frankly for all of us as well.
So there was this rich merchant who had four wives and he loved his fourth wife the most.
He gave her beautiful clothes,
Beautiful jewellery,
Expensive jewellery,
Perfume,
He treated her to delicacies,
He took great care of her and gave her nothing but the best.
His third wife he also loved very much and he was very proud of her and he always wanted to show her off to all of his friends and family.
However jealousy resided inside of him with respect to this wife and he lived in great fear that she might run away with someone else.
He had a second wife and she was a very considerate person,
Very compassionate lady,
Always patient and in fact she was his true confidante.
Whenever the merchant faced some problems he always turned to his second wife and she would always help him out and hide him through difficult times.
Now the merchant's first wife was a very very loyal partner and she made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and business as well as taking care of the household.
However the merchant didn't love his first wife and although she loved him deeply he hardly took any notice of her.
One day the merchant fell ill and before long he knew that he was going to die soon.
He thought back on his life and the luxury it held and he told himself,
I have four wives right now but when I die I'll be all alone,
I'll be so lonely.
And so he wondered if one of his wives would come with him.
Obviously his first choice was his fourth wife.
He went to her and he said,
I've loved you the most,
I've given you the finest of clothing,
I've showered you with wonderful care and love but now I'm dying.
Will you follow me into the afterlife,
Will you keep me company there?
No way replied the fourth wife and she literally just turned her back on him and walked out the room without another word.
The answer cut like a sharp knife right into the merchant's heart.
After a while the sad merchant went to his third wife.
I've loved you so much since the day I met you and now that I'm dying will you follow me into the afterlife,
Will you keep me company there?
Absolutely not replied the third wife,
Life is good over here,
Not only am I not going to follow you into the afterlife but guaranteed when you die I'm definitely going to marry somebody else.
And she turned on her ills and walked away.
The merchant's heart sank.
He then went to his second wife.
You know that I've always turned to you for help and you've always helped me out,
I need your help again.
When I die will you follow me into the afterlife,
Will you keep me company there?
The third wife looked at him,
Took his hand and said I'm really sorry but I can't help you out this time.
At the very most I will arrange the most beautiful funeral for you.
I will make sure that everyone who knows you will be there and I will be with you at the graveside but that is as far as I can go.
I cannot go any further.
Well this answer too came like a bolt of lightning.
He was devastated and as he sat there alone in his room he heard a voice.
I'll leave with you,
I'll follow you no matter where you go.
The merchant looked up and there was his first wife.
She was so skinny,
Almost like she suffered from malnutrition.
Greatly grieved,
So saddened,
The merchant said I should have taken much better care of you while I could have.
So what is the meaning behind the parable of the four wives?
Like the rich merchant we all have four wives and here's what I mean.
The fourth wife.
The fourth wife represents our body.
We spend so much time tending to our body,
Washing it,
Dressing it,
Nourishing it with food,
Making sure it looks good,
Making sure it looks good for everybody else but no matter how well we care for it our body will eventually fail us and we'll be left behind upon our death.
The third wife is a representation of all our stuff,
Our possessions,
Our wealth,
Our status.
We get so caught up in chasing material things and life becomes about impressing other people yet these things firstly can vanish at any moment,
They fickle,
They won't stand by us and certainly when we leave they're probably going to go to somebody else.
The second wife.
The second wife are our earthly relationships,
Our friends,
Our family,
Our spouses but no matter how deep and how strong our relationships grow here on earth they can only stand by us up to our funeral,
To the graveside.
They cannot go beyond that even if they wanted to.
Now the first wife.
The first wife represents our soul.
It's the only thing we can take with us after death and yet too often our spiritual life gets neglected as we pursue other things be it money,
Love,
Career.
So care for your body and keep it healthy.
Show your possessions and the comfort they may provide.
Cherish your friends and your family for the love that they give you but please don't forget to take care of your soul.
Nourish it.
Give it everything that it needs because it is always,
Always there for you.
Take time to be alone.
Take time to pray if that's important to you.
Take time to meditate because that is the source of everything and will always be our most faithful friend.
So thank you for sharing your time with me today and I wish you so much happiness.
I wish you good health and most of all I wish you inner peace with the nourishment of your soul.
Bye bye.
