What Do You Love Most?
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
—Mark 8:36
I’m not sure of the background of the following parable. Yesterday, a friend of mine gave me a hard copy of it; his wife sent it to him in an email. Wanting an e-copy, I googled “king 4 wives”, and found this version on an “Islamic Forum”. That it might be of Arabic origin isn’t so surprising, seeing that, on the surface, it concerns a king with multiple spouses.
The King Who Had Four Wives
Once upon a time there was a rich King who had 4 wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best.
He also loved the 3rd wife very much and was always showing her off to neighboring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day she would leave him for another.
He also loved his 2nd wife. She was his confidante and was always kind, considerate and patient with him. Whenever the King faced a problem, he could confide in her to help him get through the difficult times.
The King's 1st wife was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.
One day, the King fell ill and he knew his time was short. He thought of his luxurious life and pondered, "I now have 4 wives with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone.
Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I have loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"
"No way!" replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word.
The sad King then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"
"No!" replied the 3rd wife. "Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to remarry!" His heart sank and turned cold.
He then asked the 2nd wife, "I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?"
"I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!" replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only send you to your grave."
Then a voice called out "I'll leave with you and follow you no matter where you go."
The King looked up and there was his first wife. Suffering from long years of neglect and malnutrition, she was very weak and thin. Greatly grieved, the King said, "I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!"
Now, as with the parables in the Old Testament (i.e. of the Creation, or of Noah), and those of the Lord Jesus Christ (of the Sower, of the Foolish Virgins), ostensibly the preceding tale is curiously unsatisfying as narrative. However, the minute the deeper, spiritual meaning is revealed, there is a marvelous, intellectually satisfying flash of understanding. Here is the explanation of the "Parable of The Four Wives":
The 4th wife represents the body: No matter how much time and effort we lavish on it to make it look good, it'll leave us when we die.
The 3rd wife represents our possessions, status and wealth: When we die, it will all go to others.
The 2nd wife is our family and friends: No matter how much they have been there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is to the moment of death.
And the 1st wife is our Soul: Though often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the ego, this is the only thing that will follow us into eternal life.
