Satan's Garage Sale
Once upon a time, Satan was having a garage sale. There,
standing in little groups were all of his bright, shiny trinkets. Here were
tools that make it easy to tear others down for use as stepping stones. And over
there were some lenses for magnifying ones own importance, which, if you looked
through them the other way, you could also use to belittle others, or even one's
self. Against the wall was the usual assortment of gardening implements
guaranteed to help your pride grow by leaps and bounds: the rake of scorn, the
shovel of jealousy for digging a pit for your neighbor, the tools of gossip and
backbiting, of selfishness and apathy. All of these were pleasing to the eye and
came complete with fabulous promises and guarantees of prosperity. Prices, of
course, were steep; but not to worry! Free credit was extended to one and all.
"Take it home, use it, and you won't have to pay until later!" old
Satan cried, as he hawked his wares.
The visitor, as he browsed, noticed two well worn, non-descript tools standing
in one corner. Not being nearly as tempting as the other items, he found it
curious that these two tools had price tags higher than any other. When he asked
why, Satan just laughed and said, "Well, that's because I use them so much.
If they weren't so plain looking, people might see them for what they
were." Satan pointed to the two tools, saying, "You see, that one's
Doubt and that one's Discouragement -- and those will work when nothing else
will."