Cut Down Your Mango Tree

Dear lovely people,

Proverbs 6:9-11 (ESV) is very clear “How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.”

Once there lived a lazy man in a populous village. He was so lazy to the point that his only source of income was a mango tree, which was planted in the backyard of his house by an elder brother of his.

One day, one of his relatives came to his house for a visit. At breakfast, lunch and dinner, only mangoes were served to the relative. He got fed up of this and thought of a plan to help him out his laziness.

That night, when the lazy man was fast sleeping, the relative quietly woke up, cut down the tree and fled away. Next day, when the man saw that the tree was cut down, he cried for weeks and finally thought of a way out.

When the need for something becomes imperative, you are forced to find ways of getting or achieving it. The lazy man had been pushed to limits such that he had no choice but to do something. Necessity had suddenly become the mother of invention in his life – to paraphrase Plato.

After few years, the same relative again came to his house. By now, the man had worked so hard and prospered. His condition had improved tremendously. He thanked the relative for making him realize his mistake.