The Land of Judgment

Long, long ago, in the Land of Judgment, there lived a girl. Her name was Pride. Pride was a very ordinary looking girl except for one peculiar feature: a twenty-foot-long wooden beam which protruded from her right eye.

"I wish I could see myself more clearly" she muttered to herself as she gazed into the mirror. But the twenty-foot beam in her eye kept her from getting close enough to the mirror to see anything other than a blurred vision of herself. Her idea of what she looked like was very distorted. In fact, she couldn't even see the beam in her own eye.

"I think I'll go into the town square today she mused. I can't wait for everyone to see this new dress I picked up; it's finer than any other I have."

She smiled as she carefully dressed herself, taking great delight in putting on such costly attire.

As she hurriedly ate her breakfast, she thought of all the pathetic people who lived in Judgment.

"I'm sure glad I'm not like Envy!" she thought. "She's such a loser. She goes around town wishing she was like everyone else. I'm glad I don't have that problem." Pride chuckled as she thought of the effect her new dress would have on Envy.

"And then there's Meekness. Talk about a wimp. She's about as bad as they come. If she wasn't so hopeless, I'd take her under my wing and teach her how to be more like me. But, sighed Pride, there's no chance of that happening. Meekness could never be like me. Poor girl!"

Pride, being the devoutly religious girl she was, picked up her Bible to read her favorite verse before she left home. She read the words clearly and with conviction. "There is none like me. Psalm 86:8." "Boy, isn't that the truth" she said as she closed her Bible and left for town.

"Look at everyone watching me" she thought with satisfaction. "They must all notice I'm wearing a new dress." She sighed with contentment as she paraded through the center of town.

Pride didn't realize the people of Judgment were not looking at her new dress, but rather were gawking at the beam protruding from her eye. It seemed to be bigger every time they saw her.

She looked absolutely ridiculous! If it wasn't for the fact that she caused so much damage, the people of Judgment would probably find her to be rather amusing. But they had no time to laugh at Pride; they were too busy trying to get out of her way.

"I wonder who will be knocked down first this time?" Gentleness asked. "I hope it's not Joy. She was so greatly injured the last time Pride came to town."

It didn't take them long to find out who would be hurt first. As soon as Pride turned to the right, both Mercy and Grace were knocked over by the beam in her eye. Pride just laughed as she saw them fall down before her.

"What's wrong with these pathetic people anyway?" she questioned. "Every time I walk through town I see people falling down left and right."

Although the tool responsible for all the damage was right in front of her face, Pride was the only one in town who couldn't see it. She continued through town, causing havoc as she went.

She was having a grand time. . . until she saw him. As Temptation made his way toward her, she became angry. As a devoutly religious girl, Pride knew she shouldn't think such thoughts, but every time he was around, she just couldn't help herself. Rather than admitting weakness, she blamed him for her temptation. She hurled a few insults his way as she passed him by.

As soon as she rounded the corner, she saw Jerk. Jerk was, well, exactly what her name implies. She frustrated and irritated many in the Land of Judgment, but none more than Pride.

"If she wasn't such a pain, I wouldn't have this problem with anger" Pride lamented.

Pride's thoughts were interrupted by a great commotion in the center of town. She didn't have to wonder what was happening for long, for when she looked up, she saw the Master Carpenter.

Pride didn't know too much about the Master Carpenter, but she knew she didn't like him. She shuddered as the Carpenter mad his way toward her. Pride had never had a face-to-face encounter with the Master, and she wasn't looking forward to it. She tried to run away from him, but before she could, the Master Carpenter placed his hand on Pride's arm and said, "Your time has come."

The Master Carpenter began to quickly and skillfully hammer, file and saw away at the beam in Pride's eye. Piece by piece the beam began to break. Pride began to feel lighter, and less weighted down, but the pain of the procedure was more than she was willing to bear. She pulled herself free from the grip of the Master Carpenter, and ran home as quickly as she could, sobbing as she went.

She immediately made her way into the bathroom to look into the mirror; she wanted to see if her new dress had been damaged in the scuffle. When she looked into the mirror, she jumped back, startled by what she saw.

"What's that thing protruding from my eye?" she questioned?

Now that the beam was only a few feet long she was finally able to stand close enough to the mirror to be able to see it. She marveled at how horribly ugly it was. She had seen specks of wood in other people's eyes, but never ever before had she seen such a horrendously large beam.

"How am I ever going to be able to remove this beam?" she wailed.

Then she heard a voice that was tender with compassion.

"Let me help you" the voice said.

As Pride turned toward the voice, she saw the Master Carpenter, standing there, with his hand extended toward her.

"Can you remove this beam?" Pride asked.

"I can if you'll let me" responded the Carpenter.

"Will it hurt?"

"Beam removal is never painless. But besides being the Master Carpenter, I'm also the Great Physician. If you allow me to remove it, I'll anoint your eyes and bring healing."

Pride agreed to allow the Master Carpenter to do what was needed. Although it was painful, before she knew it, the beam was completely removed. As Pride held the beam in her hand, she was amazed by the ugliness and heaviness of it. She quickly laid it down at the feet of the Master Carpenter.

"Do what you will with it" Pride said.

In only a moment, the beam was gone. Then the Great Physician reached down and gently placed some ointment into Pride's eye.

He said, "Not only am I healing your sight, I am also giving you a new name. No longer will you be known as Pride. Your new name is Humility. Rest in my forgiveness and be healed.

He gently laid Humility down beside a quiet stream and caused her to fall into a deep, restorative sleep.

When Humility awoke, she felt lighter and more joyful than she ever had. As she sat up, she noticed an unusual box sitting at her feet. The box was oddly but beautifully constructed of bits and pieces of wood which were carefully sanded and perfectly joined together. Although she had never seen anything quite like it, the box looked strangely familiar.

All of a sudden, Humility realized that the Master Carpenter had crafted the box from the scraps of the beam which had been removed from her eye. She marveled at the work of art wrought from what had previously been so ugly.

After turning the box over and admiring it, she finally gained enough courage to open it. She was surprised to find the box filled with beautiful gifts: gifts of grace, mercy, joy, love, and forgiveness.

Humility stood up, and with the box in her hands made her way toward the town square. From the center of the town, she began to distribute the gifts the Master Carpenter had freely given her.

As she joyfully dispensed peace, love and joy to all who passed by, the Land of Judgment became the Land of Mercy, and joy, grace, love and forgiveness flowed freely through its streets.