A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned to complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor came in with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups...porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite...telling them to help themselves to the coffee.When all the students had a cup in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice-looking expensive cups were taken, leaving the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee in most cases. It is just more expensive; in some cases it even hides what we drink."
"What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups...and then began eyeing each others' cups."
"Consider this: Life is the coffee. The jobs, money, and position in society are the cups. they are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."
God brews the coffee, not the cups...enjoy your coffee.
"I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." Philippians 4:11
(...copied)
6 comments:
WOO HOO!!! This story rocks! I can't believe I've just read a great little parable that included a) a college professor, b) cups of coffee, and c) an excellent point about living for what's truly valuable. Does life get any better than this?
(throw in a bagel next time and we'll see!) ;)
Thanks for the reminder of what life is all about... we get so wrapped up in the materialism in this spoiled society that we forget to be thankful to God for His blessings in our lives. The things we think we need are actually just wants that He has blessed us with the ability (and location) to obtain.
Now that I know where this is from... it still doesn't take away from what a great illustration it is!
This is so very important to remember. I know some people who have it "all", i.e. money, nice house, etc., and they still complain about the things "missing" in their lives. I know that I, myself, get wrapped up in the wrong things as far as what is really important and where my focus should be.
Thanks, Jim!
you know what's funny?
i don't even drink my coffe out of a coffee mug lol
i drink it out of a tall, clear, plastic cup
^_^
awesome story! and certainly the moral of this is right in line with the conviction i've felt concerning the mess that Christmas has become. this whole thing of how many do we buy for this year, how much do we spend per person, blah blah blah... next year, i'm sending cards to all the people i buy gifts for, telling them how much money i sent to charity in their name, and that's going to be Christmas gift giving from now on. we get too wrapped up in what people will think of us based on how much money we part with at Christmas... i dont want my life to be defined by that.
Post a Comment