The other day I was getting hot chocolate from the
coffee dispenser in the Doctor’s Lounge at the hospital. It was one of those
machines where you made a choice from a menu on a touch screen, put your cup
under the spout, placed a little packet of your chosen beverage in the slot,
pushed start and, voila, your drink magically appears in your cup. I don’t use
this machine very often. I don’t drink coffee and usually confine my tea
drinking to the evening. However, I do like hot chocolate and, once in a while,
it is available form this contraption.
Hot chocolate, however, is not the topic for this
day. Rather, as I was making my choice I noticed there was a button which read “Wellbeing”.
This
is amazing was my immediate thought. Just push that
button, put the proper packet in its proper place, put in your cup, wait a few
seconds for the potion to be brewed, take a few sips and you will reach the
goal which has eluded humanity since Adam and Eve suffered the Fall. More than
amazing; truly miraculous.
Wellbeing.
Isn’t that all that any individual could ever want? Webster defines well-being
as “the state of being happy, healthy, or prosperous.” I think most people in
this day and age would define it as including all three conditions. I would put
the emphasis on “happiness”.
I pondered the whole situation for few moments.
Here, at the tips of my fingers, was the solution to all the ills of the world.
The possibilities were overwhelming. No more poverty, no illness, no hatred, the
end of war, no more strife or anxiety, no worries; in fact, all the ills of the
world gone forever, a Pandora’s Box in reverse. All from a little cup.
But, should I share it? Maybe I could bottle it and
sell it to the highest bidder. Or sell it to health insurance companies or the
government. They would probably keep locked away lest there reason for
existence be lost forever. No, the altruistic way is best. Give it away for
free.
Well-being for all.
That would be the only way. But, could such a
marvelous concoction truly exist? I took the next step and pushed the button
marked “Wellbeing.” New instructions appeared.
Large
Small
Hot Water
Add Packet
I chose large. The more Well-being the better. I was
instructed to add the packet and put my cup underneath. I looked through the
different packets available. There was “House Blend”, French Roast”, Hot
Chocolate”, “Milky Way”, “Green Tea”, “White Tea” and “Black Tea”. No
Wellbeing. I pulled each little drawer out and searched through the packets.
Surely there must be at least one packet left behind by mistake. I pulled them
all out one by one. No Wellbeing. Like a madman I violently ripped open the cabinets
where the packets are stored and threw them out on the floor, desperately
searching for one that read “Wellbeing.” No luck. I vainly pushed the “brew”
button, hoping against hope that wellbeing would appear without the required
packet. Nothing happened.
“Everyone else has taken My Wellbeing. Well I’ll
show them. I raced out of the lounge, slamming doors and plotting in my head
how I would take my vengeance. I was almost a wild beast until I got outside in
the light. I looked around and saw the trees and birds and clouds, all of
creation and then I felt it.
Wellbeing. It comes from faith. Faith in God and His
Son. Not from a cup or a machine. And it is available to all for free.
But, I forgot my hot chocolate.
