A Fortune Turned to Ash

Fortune Turned to Ash

Once upon a time, while hunting, a king lost his way in a dense forest. Suffering from intense thirst and searching for a path, he reached a place where a woodcutter was cutting wood. The woodcutter helped the king, gave him water to drink, and showed him the way out of the forest. The king thanked him and said, “Kind man, do visit my palace. I would like to reward you.”

A few days later, the woodcutter set out for the king’s palace, thinking to himself that if the king asked what reward he wanted, he would request a place full of trees. He planned to cut those trees, turn the wood into charcoal, sell it in the market, and earn a lot of money. With these thoughts, he reached the palace.

He introduced himself to the gatekeeper, and the king allowed him to appear before him. The compassionate king said, “Ask, O kind-hearted man! What do you desire?” The woodcutter presented his wish. The king thought for a moment, then smiled and said to his minister, “Grant him my sandalwood garden, where as far as the eye can see there are only sandalwood trees.”

The woodcutter received the reward he desired from the royal court and headed back. When he saw such a vast, tree-filled garden, joy filled his heart, and he thought that within a few days he would become rich. During the day he cut trees, at night he turned them into charcoal, and the next day he sold it in the market. Time passed, but there was no significant profit. Soon the woodcutter became very worried, because only a few trees remained, and he was right back where he had started. His income did not increase, nor did his lifestyle change.

One day, the king thought, Why not go and visit the woodcutter? He must be a very wealthy man by now. Perhaps he has even built a fine residence. When the king reached the sandalwood garden, he was so shocked by what he saw that he sat down on the ground. More than half of the garden had been burned, blackness was spread everywhere, and the place looked like a dreadful wasteland.

The king asked the woodcutter, “What have you done?”

The woodcutter replied, “Your Majesty, I thought that by cutting the trees and turning the wood into charcoal and selling it, my fortune would change. I cut all the wood; now only a few trees remain, but my income is the same as before. The only difference is that earlier I made charcoal in the forest; now I make it in this garden.”

The king understood everything at once and said, “Take these remaining pieces of wood—just a few meters’ worth—to the market and sell them.”

The woodcutter had no choice but to obey the king’s command. He went and began selling the sandalwood, calling out to buyers. Within moments, many buyers arrived and bidding began. Finally, he sold the sandalwood to the highest bidder. He had never seen so much money from selling wood before. Returning to the king, he said, “Such a small amount of wood sold for such a high price, and I ruined all the rest by turning it into charcoal.”

The king said, “I gave you this garden so that with the help of some trees you would grow new ones, and by selling the wood of some trees you would become rich. But through your foolishness, you destroyed the entire garden.” Now the woodcutter was left with nothing but regret.

From this story, we learn two important lessons:

A person’s soul is like a sandalwood garden, and their breaths are the sandalwood trees. Many people burn these trees in evil deeds and turn them into charcoal. They burn all their breaths in hatred, lies, greed, selfish desire, envy, and wrongdoing, without realizing that just as one tree can give rise to another, these moving breaths could have been used for service to God and humanity, for hope, trust, compassion, mercy, sincerity, truthfulness, and goodness, benefiting many lives. When only a few breaths remain, we realize that nothing is left except regret.

Sometimes God grants us far more than what we desire, but due to ignorance and foolishness, many waste the blessing He gave us. Many forget the purpose for which God granted  us the blessings, like the woodcutter, many fail to understand its true value and proper use, and in the end, are left empty-handed.

The essence is this: Nurture the garden of your soul with goodness, and do not let these trees (your breaths) be burned in evil deeds. Use these breaths through good actions to grow even more trees (goodness and life in abundance).   Never turn your fortune to ashes. 

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@pastorcharles