Once upon a time there was a king and a Prime Minister who lived in a very distant land… (Unknown authorship)
The king was loving and kind; the prime minister was good and wise. The prime minister would always say that happiness would rule because there was a good and just God who always did what was best for the people. The king always followed the wisdom of his prime minister and would say: "everything God does is good..."
These words were the ones that enabled the king to be considerate and kind with his subordinates. The king had two daily entertainments. One of them was to work with wood; he would do carving and create different sculptures. The other entertainment was to ride every morning through the forest along side his prime minister.
They would chat about life’s mysteries whilst they rode their horses. The king would always look for explanations to his afflictions. On these daily rides he would find comfort for his heart, which was quite agitated and full of doubts.
One day the king was working at his workshop when suddenly his forefinger was amputated by the saw. He got desperate and called for his prime minister. He was hoping he would explain the reason why God had allowed that accident to happen to him as he was a very good, just and honest person.
The prime minister, for the king’s surprise, told him: "everything God does is good..." He didn’t comfort the king with consoling words, but just said that sentence out loud. The king then felt irritated and distressed. He called the guards and asked them to take the prime minister into prison.
The king’s life changed after that accident. He didn’t have anyone he could talk to and/or confine his thoughts. He still went out for his daily entertainments; working with wood and riding his horse every morning. He would now do it on his own.
One day, the king was riding his horse somewhere far into the forest. He was imprisoned by a savage tribe. He felt quite scared and the only thing he could think of doing was to pray for God to protect and give him peace.
When the savages arrived with him at their tribe, there was a big party going on. The aboriginals were playing drums and cattle bells; dancing around an altar. There was a priest who was sitting down in an ecstatic state. Everything was ready for a big party that would offer a sacrifice to the tribe’s Gods.
The priest made a signal to the aborigines, who untied the king’s hands and started to paint his body with some strong looking colours. They were saying some phrases the king was not able to understand; they were speaking a different language.
The priest started to dance around the altar. He suddenly looked at the king’s hands and realised he didn’t have one of his fingers. He then ordered the king to be freed as he was seen to be an incomplete being to be sacrificed to their Gods.
The king was then set free; he soon was able to get back to the castle. On his way to it, he thought for a while on what just happened to him: "everything God does is actually good". If he didn’t loose his finger earlier on, he would have just lost his life now.
There was something that still bothered the king. How would he explain the time his loyal first minister spent at the prison? He was there for a while now. Would God only be just for the king but not for his subordinates?
When he managed to get back into the castle, he ordered that the first minister would be released and brought to his presence. After all, it seemed impossible for him to understand why God was unjust with such a kind person.
When the king saw him, he mentioned what happened on that morning: "I know understand why I lost a finger. It actually saved my life. I don’t understand why God was not benevolent with you. How could this have happened to you?"
The wise and patient friend the replied to his king: "your highness forgot we used to ride every morning? Can you imagine what would have happened to me this morning in the forest? After all, I have all my finders..."
God does certain things at certain times which we can’t understand and judge to be wrong, but in the future we will understand that they were for our own benefit.
He then concluded: "everything God does is good..."