The Emperor and his Temples

The Emperor and his Temples
Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was an emperor who had a mighty empire. In his he had many Temples, most of which he grew up knowing and visiting. He was a good man who had a good heart.

One day, while meditating, he became very sad. Many of the Temple he visited as a child had fallen in disarray over the years. They had lost their beauty, luster, and glory. So, the emperor decided he would have the Temples restored.

He put it to his court to put out a proclamation seeking the best people to do the job. Many people from all over his lands applied for the project. Many were enthusiastic and ready, but only a few were qualified in the eyes of the emperor.

In the end, it came down to two parties in the eyes of the emperor, the master builders, and a group of monks. But he could not decide which one to choose. So, he asked his court to advise him on which one to choose.

After interviewing both groups, the court could not decide also on who they should invite to restore the temples and advised the emperor that they could not decide on his behalf.

The emperor gave each group one temple to restore, and he would decide afterwards who would restore the remaining temples in his lands. A time frame for completion was set, and they started the task.

When the time to complete the work was ended, the emperor inspected each temple.

His master builders completed the first temple. They had torn down the old temple and rebuilt it. They did a magnificent job. The walls were multicolored walls. The windows were new, gleaming, bringing in much needed light into the temple space. They magnificently crafted the altar in splendor and beauty.

After inspecting the temple, the emperor was very pleased, as was his court.

The second temple was to be restored by a group of monks. They were a devout order and impressed the emperor when he spoke with them, as was his court. The monks took a much different approach to the task.

The monks cleaned and scrubbed the temple rather than change it. They diligently scrubbed, cleaned, buffed, and waxed every surface in and on the temple. They did the same with all the furniture, pictures, as well as the temple and brought the temple back to its original state.

As the emperor approached the second temple, instantly he remembered a time when he was young and visited the temple as he approached it. All the fond memories rushed back to him.

As he inspected the work of the monks, he saw the care and effort that went into restoring the original and inner beauty of the temple the emperor had tasked them with restoring. He realized the effort that went into each item. He could see the care and love that went into every task.

The emperor looked at the members of his court and could see that they felt the same way as he did. There was only one decision to make. The monks would restore all the temples in his land.

This is one of my favorite stories that I have come across because it speaks so loudly to us as a people today. 46.3% of you will decide to tear down your temple of marriage and decide to build a new one. Despite the damage, it will do.

I don’t blame the women, mostly. Mostly I blame the men. As men, it is our responsibility to keep our temples in their state of splendor and beauty. Temples are holy. They are sacred. They are a sacred gift we are to protect and care for. Gifted us from our maker.

Yet we neglect them. We neglect them for another temple whose occupants care not about or for us. We watch our temples fall into disarray while we are away, working or playing. We justify the time away because “everyone has to do it, right?” or my favorite “I deserve it.” No, you don’t.

Our favorite excuse is “I will get to it….. later.” But we don’t. Slowly we watch as those we say we love drift farther and farther away from us. The worst part is we know it, but we do nothing about it. Next thing you know, you are a master builder. No sense of yourself. No sense of where you came from.

And you ask someone else to believe you when you say “forever”, again. They might, but in the back of their mind is the thought that you said that once, and lied. Yes, you lied. Forever means scrubbing, cleaning, scraping, washing away the dust and filth. Not playing.

Every time we tear down our “old” temples and build “new” ones, we still build them on the same foundation. So, my advice is don’t tear down the temple. Shore up the foundation. In the long haul it will be easier to weather out the storms of life on a solid foundation than in a new flimsy temple.

Last, set a new goal in life. One that will make you a better person when you achieve it. While you are achieving it, always ask yourself what will this goal make of you? How will this change you in the process if you achieve it?

If the goal lands you in a new temple, it’s not the right goal. Change it and change your future.




You can see the video version of this story on my YouTube channel here: The Emperor and his Temples
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Remember: Happiness is a choice, so choose to be happy.
The Hive Law/ (2021 Divorce Rate in America) How Many Marriages End In Divorce Statistics/ accessed 09/20/2021/ https://www.thehivelaw.com/blog/divorce-statistics-us-divorce-rate-in-america/