I. Introduction
We learned them as children. They are forever burned into our memory. However, just because we learned them doesn't mean we learned from them. Let's look at one of these fairytales we know so well and see if we can learn from it today. Today in honor of our graduates I want to examine a fairytale that isn't quite as well known.
There was once a poor Miller who had a beautiful daughter, and one day, having to go to speak with the King, he said, in order to make himself seem important, that he had a daughter who could spin straw into gold. The King was very fond of gold, and thought to himself, “That is an art which would make me very happy”; and so he said to the Miller, “If your daughter is so very clever, bring her to the castle in the morning, and I will check if she really is as useful as you say.”
As soon as she arrived the King led her into a chamber which was full of straw; and, giving her a wheel and a reel, he said, “Now set yourself to work, and if you have not spun this straw into gold by an early hour to-morrow, you must die.” With these words he shut the room door, and left the young girl alone.
There she sat for a long time, thinking how to save her life; for she didn’t know how straw might be spun into gold; and her worry increased more and more, till at last she began to cry. All at once the door opened, and in stepped a little Man, who said, “Good evening, fair maiden; why do you weep so much?” “Ah,” she replied, “I must spin this straw into gold, and I am sure I do not know how.”
The little Man asked, “What will you give me if I spin it for you?” “My necklace,” said the maiden. The Dwarf took it, placed himself in front of the wheel, and whirr, whirr, whirr, three times round, and the bobbin was full. Then he set up another, and whir, whir, whir, three times round again, and a second bobbin was full; and so he went all night long, until all the straw was spun, and the bobbins were full of gold.
At sunrise the King came, very much astonished to see the gold; the sight of which gladdened him, but did not make his heart less greedy. He caused the maiden to be led into another room, still larger, full of straw; and then he told her to spin it into gold during the night if she valued her life. The dwarf shows up again and this time in exchange for her ring he spins the room full of gold. So, once again the king places her in a larger room with more straw and tells her to repeat the feat. “This you must spin during the night; but if you accomplish it you shall be my bride.” “For,” thought he to himself, “a richer wife you cannot have in all the world.” When the maiden was left alone, the Dwarf again appeared and asked, for the third time, “What will you give me to do this for you?” “I have nothing left that I can give you,” replied the maiden.
“Then promise me your first-born child if you become Queen,” said he. The Miller’s daughter thought, “Who can tell if that will ever happen?” and, not knowing how else to help herself out of her trouble, she promised the Dwarf what he desired; and he immediately set about and finished the spinning. When morning came, and the King found all he had wished for done, he celebrated his wedding, and the Miller’s fair daughter became Queen. About a year after the marriage, when she had ceased to think about the little Dwarf, she brought a fine child into the world; and, suddenly, soon after its birth, the very man appeared and demanded what she had promised. The frightened Queen offered him all the riches of the kingdom if he would leave her her child; but the Dwarf answered, “No; something human is dearer to me than all the wealth of the world.”
The Queen began to weep and groan so much that the Dwarf pitied her, and said, “I will leave you three days to consider; if you in that time discover my name you shall keep your child. For the next two days she asked everyone she could think of and each day she would attempt to guess his name by naming every odd name she could think of . . . “Caspar,” “Melchior,” “Balthassar,” “Ribs-of-Beef,” “Sheep-shank,” “Whalebone" and each time the dwarf laughed and said no. The third day the messenger came back and said, “I have not found a single name; but as I came to a high mountain near the edge of a forest, where foxes and hares say good night to each other, I saw there a little house, and before the door a fire was burning, and round this fire a very curious little Man was dancing on one leg, and shouting: “‘To-day I stew, and then I’ll bake, tomorrow I shall the Queen’s child take; Ah! how famous it is that nobody knows that my name is Rumpelstiltskin.'”
When the Queen heard this she was very glad, for now she knew the name; and soon after came the Dwarf, and asked, “Now, my lady Queen, what is my name?” First she said, “Are you called Conrade?” “No.” “Are you called Hal?” “No.” “Are you called Rumpelstiltskin?” “A witch has told you! a witch has told you!” shrieked the little Man, and stamped his right foot so hard in the ground with rage that he could not pull it out again. Then he took hold of his left leg with both his hands, and pulled away so hard that his right came off in the struggle, and he hopped away howling terribly. And from that day to this the Queen has heard no more of her troublesome visitor.
A rather odd tale but packed with truth for our graduates and in fact for each of us. If you will allow, I would like to teach you the lessons and then show you in Scripture how this same tale plays out.
I could teach you that what you say impacts others. Pride will get you and yours in trouble. But I think there are two major lessons I want to mention. I think it is important to note from this tale that the Miller's daughter was placed in a difficult situation. Her life was at stake. So, she makes an exchange. First a necklace for life. Then a ring. Then finally her first born. She trades these things for life.
I think the first lesson is this . . .
Life is a series of exchanges.
Nothing is gained for free. Everything comes with a cost. It may not carry a dollar sign but there is a price you pay for every exchange. You are giving away your time, your energy, your emotions, your strength and yes, sometimes your wealth in every decision you make. And even though you may feel invincible now it is the wise who understand that your supply is always diminishing. Nothing is free! So, you should spend and exchange wisely. I also want you to note that as time goes by the stakes increase. What may not cost you as much at 18 could wreck you at 38! Those who can understand this at 18 are wise!
The second lesson may be the most important lesson . . .
Tomorrow must be considered today.
We see this lesson taught twice in the account. The Miller never stops to think that his desire to put on airs or make himself seem important would almost cost him his daughter's life. She was trapped by the lie her father told. The daughter, learns from the father, and she never stopped to think that there would be a pay day someday. She gave up her future for momentary relief. The choice for relief today almost cost her the love of her life . . . her first born.
Today's choices will give birth to tomorrow's triumphs or tomorrow's troubles. This is determined by considering consequences before we experience them.
I wish I could stand here and say only our graduates need to learn this but you don't know the scores of people I have watched in the last few years bankrupt their tomorrow for pleasure today. I have watched men lose their entire family for the thrill of the hunt today and then weep 5 years later as they examine the destruction they left in their path. I have watched women who didn't value themselves allow their worth to be determined by the physical or by a man who didn't value them and they wind up crushed and broken. I have watched parents make decisions today that their kids will feel the pain of long after the parents are dead! I have watched purchases made that bring less than 24 hours of pleasure but bring decades of financial stress. Choices made in the moment with little to no thought given to the long-term fallout and the result is our child, our destiny, our promise, our future placed in jeopardy. Our long-term peace sacrificed for this minute. Way too often our desperation to get out of passing pain leads us to permanent pain! Scripture promises that weeping only last for a night. In other words, there will be moments in life that cause us to experience tears. However, weeping can last much longer than a night if we make decisions in an attempt to avoid crying. Our own desire for comfort can be deadly. I want to remind you that our Heavenly Father is more committed to our character than our comfort. So, we cannot risk our future in an attempt to bypass the character building pain of today! We can expect difficult situations that are intended to develop us. If we bypass, exit them, or fail to learn from them, then we will pay the price in the future.
Genesis 25:29-34
One day Jacob was cooking a stew. Esau came in from the field, starved. Esau said to Jacob, “Give me some of that red stew—I’m starved!” That’s how he came to be called Edom (Red). Jacob said, “Make me a trade: my stew for your rights as the firstborn.” Esau said, “I’m starving! What good is a birthright if I’m dead?” Jacob said, “First, swear to me.” And he did it. On oath Esau traded away his rights as the firstborn. Jacob gave him bread and the stew of lentils. He ate and drank, got up and left. That’s how Esau shrugged off his rights as the firstborn.
Esau exchanges the birthright for a happy meal. No thought given to the cost of the exchange. No thought past the growling of his stomach. Belly full but tomorrow empty. Look at what he gave up for a bowl of beans. The birthright meant that after the father died, or in the father’s absence, the firstborn son assumed the father’s authority and responsibilities. He became the priest of the family. In addition to assuming the leadership role in the family, the recipient of the birthright inherited twice that received by the other sons.
The result is years of tension, tears, anger, separation and strife all caused by failing to consider the cost and the impact of today on tomorrow.
It would be easy to look down on the miller's daughter or on Esau for the choices they made, but how many of us chose the same route they did this week?
The Miller's daughter risked her first born. Esau gambled his future. The decision you make this week or next month will have lifelong implications . . . choose wisely, count the cost, look ahead! Riches today isn't worth regret tomorrow. Stew today isn't worth suffering tomorrow! Choose wisely!
