A master carpenter who worked for the same builder for nearly 50 years announced he wanted to retire. The builder told him how much he appreciated his work. He gave the carpenter a $5,000 bonus and asked him if he would build just one more house. The builder owned a magnificent lot with a spectacular view, and said he wanted to build a dream home there.
The carpenter was bitterly disappointed at the small bonus, but his last building fee would help him buy a small cottage, so he agreed to build the dream house.
The carpenter had always prided himself on his uncompromising commitment to quality, but resentment over this last job caused him to cut corners, ignore details, and accept shoddy workmanship from other workers. He even looked the other way when some of them substituted cheaper materials and pocketed the difference.
When the house was finished, the builder shook the carpenter’s hand and, with a huge smile, gave him an envelope with a thank-you card and a folded piece of paper. The carpenter was disdainful until he unfolded the paper and found the deed to the house he had just built.
The carpenter was ashamed to have misjudged his old friend and betrayed his own values, and he was remorseful that the house he would live in for the rest of his life had been made so carelessly.
Our character is the house we live in, and it’s built piece by piece by our daily choices. Deceit, irresponsibility, and disrespect are like shoddy workmanship. Whenever we put in less than our best and ignore our potential for excellence, we create a future full of creaky floors, leaky roofs, and crumbling foundations.
“The Parable of the Carpenter” by Michael Josephson
This parable emphasizes the power we each possess over the construction of our lives. We are each leader of our self, our family and / or our work. As the leader we determine the quality of workmanship based on our level of personal development, the quality of materials we choose to work with by the people we choose to bring into our lives, and the quality of environment which we choose to build our structure on through the places we live, work, and pray. Thus begins our daily construction of the ultimate work of art that is destined to be our life.
A master leader will pride them self on the work that goes into every project they are involved in. They will take the time to develop personally so that they are the best they can be. The materials they will use will be of the highest quality. The leader understands that once they start using subpar materials, the reflection will come to rest squarely on the leader’s shoulder. When the valued leader gives the very best talents, skills, and abilities using the very best resources, the structure must be positioned in the very best environment. One would never build a mansion on a weak or unstable foundation so why would a master leader choose to operate in an environment destined to sink or collapse.
Also consider the Power of the Wisdom of Three using the features that make up every construction, the foundation, the walls and the roof. Every building must have these three building blocks. The foundation must be solid, stable and strong so as to bear the weight of the entire structure. Our foundation is the permanent and eternal part of us, our soul. The house is only as good as the foundation and so it is with a leader’s soul. The walls must be ridged, binding, and durable to survive the elements. They must be ridged enough to not bend under stress, be capable of binding the roof to the foundation and the walls to one another; keeping the structure together while durable enough to endure powerful outside forces. We too have walls known as the structure of our body. Of course, every resident must have a roof. The roof must be constructed to allow for runoff, so it does not take on additional weight from debris. It must be centered so as to keep the walls straight. Most importantly, the roof must act as the covering protecting the valuables residing directly below it. Our roof is our mind.
Being created by the ultimate Master Builder, we should not allow anything to cause damage to our foundation, walls, or roof. Most importantly, we should do everything possible to lead by the examples of our Master Builder.
If this is my last post, I want all to know that there was only one purpose for all that I have written; to have made a positive difference in the lives of others.