The Parable of the Lifesaving Station

There was once a crude little life-saving station on a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves, they went out day or night tirelessly searching for the lost.

Many lives were saved by this wonderful little station so that it became famous. Some of those who were saved and various others in the surrounding areas wanted to become associated with the station and give of their time and money and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought, and new crews were trained. The little life-saving station grew.

Some of the new members of the life-saving station were unhappy that the building was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge for those saved from the sea.

So they replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in an enlarged building. Now the life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they redecorated it beautifully and furnished it as a sort of club.

Less of the members were now interested in going to sea on life-saving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do this work. The mission of life-saving was still given lip service, but most were too busy or lacked the necessary commitment to take part in the life-saving activities personally.

About this time, a large ship wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boatloads of cold, wet, and half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick, some spoke a strange language, and the beautiful new club was considerably messed up. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where the victims of any shipwrecks could be cleaned up before coming inside the clubhouse.

At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club’s life-saving activities as being unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal pattern of the club. But some members insisted that life-saving was their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a life-saving station. But these members were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the lives of all the various kinds of people shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own life station down the coast. They did.

As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. They evolved into a club, and yet another life-station was founded. If you visit that seacoast today, you will find a number of exclusive clubs all along that shore. Shipwrecks are still frequent in those waters, but now most of the people drown!                                                                                        

                                                                                                      Author Unknown