Sacks

There once was a man who found a simple job. He was hired to go into the barn, pick up a sack of grain, and carry it into town. He was only required to carry one sack of grain a day, and, after his first day on the job, he said, “this is the simplest job I’ve ever had!”While making his way into town, he greeted neighbors and thought about all the blessings of his life.

After a few weeks on the job, however, he began to think of ways to do things differently. His first idea was to not only carry the one sack assigned for the day, but also carry the sack for tomorrow. That way, he reasoned, he could get ahead or maybe even take the next day off.

It worked a few times, but the weight distracted from those he passed along the way, and blessings were the furthest things from his mind. Still, it's worth it, he reasoned, until he hurt his back. He needed not only the next day to recover, but also the day after that. When he returned, he was behind. To catch up, he needed to carry the sack of yesterday, along with the one for today, never mind the one for tomorrow.

Under the weight of too many sacks, he realized he had made a simple job complicated, difficult, and painful. Eventually, the man returned to the simple task of carrying the day’s sack only.