Wood, Hay, Stubble and Stone

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

Once upon a time there were four brothers, Bill, Bob, Buck and Beuford. Each of them was physically strong and very intelligent. They had similar tastes in food and each liked to hunt. In almost every way they were a spitting image of the other. There was one trait that set Bill apart from his other brothers though. He always listened to wise counsel. Bob, Buck and Beuford were known to make rash decisions without considering the consequences. This had gotten them each into trouble in numerous ways. Bill seemed to have a knack though for seeking advice before proceeding with any endeavor.

 

One day the brothers decided they needed to break away from their family farm and seek their fortunes in the hills. They heard that there were riches to be had in mining the mountain streams and rivers. So off they went, each with a mule, pick, shovel, pan and foodstuffs. The journey was long and they overcame many hardships but eventually they reached what they determined was the perfect spot. No claims had yet been made on this portion of the river except for one, the claim of an old codger named George MacArver Whitman. George had mined many rivers and streams in the mountains and was very wise in the ways of the hills. He had fought off Indians, blizzards, bears and floods. Bill, Bob, Buck and Beuford asked if he’d mind if they set up claims near his on the river. He frowned a little in response but said as long as they stayed off his claim he didn’t mind. “The river was big enough for all of them.” He had said.

 

Each of the four brothers claimed a portion of the riverbank, set up camp and began prospecting. As each day passed they accumulated more and more gold nuggets. One day George came by and advised them to build some sturdy shelters, for the winter rains were coming and snow would soon follow. Bob, Buck and Beuford went out into the woods to collect material to build their respective dwellings. Bill, as usual, split from the pack and asked George for advice. George was only too willing to help. He showed Bill his own little house he had built out of granite and lava stone that he had picked up. Each stone was placed just perfect so as to brace the others around it. Bill was very impressed and looked carefully at all the details of how George had built such a sturdy house. Bill went off to copy the stone house down to every single sturdy detail.

 

Meanwhile, Bob had managed to cut down several trees and was beginning to build his wood shelter. He trimmed the trees, hauled them with his mule to the location he had picked and began cutting them to fit together to form a rather sturdy structure.

 

Buck was off on his own quest for gathering materials for his shack. He remembered reading in a book once about how some natives in a foreign country had taken hay and tied it into bundles. The bundles were then tied together to form walls and even a roof. Buck knew he could duplicate such a structure. He felt that he could get his small structure built way before anyone else because the hay bundles were easier to handle than any other material. He found an abandoned field and cut lots of hay to form his small dwelling.

 

Beuford had what he thought was the perfect idea for a house in the wilderness. Why not live like the animals and throw together some bramble bush, sticks and dry grass and form a small domelike dwelling close to the ground? He would call it his stubble hut. It wouldn’t take but about half and hour to put together. He could crawl inside and stay warm and dry. He couldn’t see the wisdom in wasting a lot of time in building a house or shack when he could be spending more time panning for gold.

 

Bill, Bob, Buck and Beuford all thought they each had the gift of construction insight. George knew Bill was secure in his sturdy stone dwelling but shook his head when he saw Bob’s log house, Buck’s hay shack and Beuford’s stubble hut. Soon the wild winter rains and snow would test whose dwelling was worthy of surviving in the wild.

 

The first winter storm came without warning. Lightning cracked across the sky and thunder roared through the night air. Beuford shivered uncontrollably as he attempted to stay warm in his stubble hut. The thin layer of grass provided almost no insulation from the harsh winter wind and the raindrops were gathering together and dribbling through the branches and twigs getting him thoroughly wet. Possibly Beuford’s plans for such a structure were not what he thought they were cracked up to be.

 

Buck was also somewhat cold in his hay shack as well. He had built a fire but was afraid to stoke it too big for he was afraid that it might catch the walls to his dwelling on fire. The other problem was that the bundles of hay were beginning to sag from the water soaking the walls through and through. He was worried that before the night was over the roof would collapse and then where would he be?

 

Bob felt fairly secure in his log structure. He had built a decent fire and was able to keep warm. The rain had not penetrated through the cracks in the logs and he was rather pleased with himself and his home away from home. The only issue was water that leaked under the bottom logs and made the dirt floor turn to mud and it made for a sloppy mess.

 

Bill was in heaven. His stone house was strong and watertight. The stone provided great protection from the rain because of how tight the rocks fit together in walls. His fire in the stone fireplace warmed the air around him as well as heating up the rock walls that distributed the heat throughout his dwelling. He felt safe and secure in the house that he had built.

 

All four brothers and George survived the storm but it took days for Bob, Buck and Beuford to dry out. A few weeks later another storm blew in over the tops of the mountains. Huge streaks of lighting once again flew across the sky and the thunder was so loud it hurt your ears.

 

Bill, Bob, Buck and Beuford heard the shout of warning almost at the same time. Each came out of their structures to see what the commotion was. George shouted out his warning one last time before slamming the door shut on his stone house. He said, “LIGHTNING STRIKE, FIRE!”

 

Bill shouted to his brothers to abandon their structures and climb into his stone house but they refused. Each had pride in their work and denied that there was any problem with their construction. Bill would have argued more with them but he could hear the roar of the wall of flames coming through the woods. Bill slammed his door shut and prayed that his brothers would survive.

 

The hot burning flames ignited by the heavy sap-laden pine trees raced through the forest. The torch of fire vaporized Beuford’s stubble hut in a flash before he could manage any scream from the pain. Buck’s hay shack faired no better. It exploded in a flash when the flames licked its sides and he was also gone in seconds as the flames burnt him to a cinder. Bob lasted a little longer for it took some time for the hot fire to burn through his log house. In some ways it would have been better to face the fate of his brothers Beuford and Buck for they had only known seconds of pain. Bob suffered as he was cooked alive before the log house crumbled and was consumed completely

 

George and Bill hunkered down on the floor of their stone houses as the flames searched the surface of the stone walls for something to consume. As if the fire realized there was would be no victory in attempts to burn the stone houses the flames continued on searching for more victims and fodder for consumption.

 

Bill cried for his brothers. He knew there was no way they had survived the onslaught of flames. He hated pride. He hated how it deceived men into believing inappropriate preparations were adequate to withstand the harshness of the world. He wished his brothers had heeded his warning. He so desired that they would have listened to wise counsel. He would remember all the good times they had had together and trust that he would never let pride lead him to build on a false foundation.

 

1 Corinthians 3:10-14

“By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.”