The Man Who Painted the Rowboat Red

For those of you who follow me, you will know I love a good parable. I came across one on the internet. A few versions are floating around. This one is from here.

The parable

A man was asked to paint a boat. He brought with him paint and brushes and began to paint the boat a bright red, as the owner asked him.

While painting, he noticed that there was a small hole in the hull and quietly repaired it. When he finished painting, he received his money and left.

The next day, the boat owner gave the painter a cheque. It was much larger than the payment for the painting.

The painter was surprised and said, "You've already paid me for painting the boat, sir!"

"But this is not for the paint job. It's for having repaired the hole in the boat."

"Ah! But it was such a small service... certainly it's not worth paying me such a high amount for something so insignificant."

"My dear friend, you do not understand. Let me tell you what happened.”

“When I asked you to paint the boat, I forgot to mention the hole. After the boat dried, my kids took it out for a fishing trip. They did not know that there was a hole. I was not at home at that time.”

“When I returned and noticed they had taken the boat, I was desperate because I remembered that the boat had a hole. Imagine my relief and joy when I saw them returning from fishing.”

"Then, I examined the boat and found that you had repaired the hole! You see now what you did? You saved the lives of my children! I do not have enough money to pay for your small good deed."

Applying it to everyday life

It always amazes me how something so small can mean so much to someone. Little acts of kindness are sadly disappearing from the world. People are so busy living their own lives that even little things can be ignored.

Sometimes these are not of great significance, but just annoying. For example, I had a piece of furniture delivered a while ago. It was a flatpack that needed assembly. Two guys delivered it and put it in my garage. I asked them politely if they could help me get it upstairs because it was quite heavy for a single person.

“No, we only deliver it to your door!” was their reply. It would have taken them five minutes with the two of them. It took me a couple of hours to take it upstairs in pieces to assemble it.

By contrast, last month I had to get some repairs done to my garage door. I left the guy to do the repairs.

After he finished, he knocked on the door. “I re-fitted the new motor and the rails,” he said. “Do you have a broom or an outdoor vacuum? I want to clean up the metal shards.”

“I don’t want them to get into your tires or for you to walk on them.”

He could have left it for me to clean up, but that small gesture meant so much.

It is called consideration. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is the biblical phrase.

The boat painter fixed the hole instead of just covering it up. This saved the children's lives.

How many people these days would stop to help a woman stranded with a flat tire on the side of the road?

How many would feel guilty if they heard that night that the lady had been hit by a car while changing her tire?

We never know what is around the corner. Don’t these little acts of random kindness and consideration help make the world a better place?

So here is your challenge: Do one random act of kindness this week and tell me about it. I bet it makes your day seem that little bit brighter.

Till next time,

Calvin