Story from Group Leadership Skills Text

There is an old Hasidic story of a rabbi who had a conversation with the Lord about Heaven and Hell. "I will show you Hell," said the Lord, and led the rabbi into a room containing a group of famished, desperate people sitting around a large, circular table. In the center of the table rested an enormous pot of stew, more than enough for everyone. The smell of the stew was delicious and made the rabbi's mouth water. Yet no one ate. Each diner at the table held a very long-handled spoon--long enough to reach the pot and scoop up a spoonful of stew, but too long to get the food into one's mouth. The rabbi saw that their suffering was indeed terrible and bowed his head in compassion. "Now I will show you Heaven, " said the Lord, and they entered another room, identical to the first--same large, round table, same enormous pot of stew, same long-handled spoons. Yet there was gaiety in the air; everyone appeared well nourished, plump, and exuberant. The rabbi could not understand and looked to the Lord. "It is simple," said the Lord, "but it requires a certain skill. You see, the people in this room have learned to feed each other!"
(The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy by Irvin D. Yalom & Molyn Leszcz, p. 13)

I found this story to be incredibly amusing when I read it, but especially appreciated the point. The point made was that those in group therapy must learn to feed off of each other. We each impact the other in the group and there is a give-and-take relationship within this setting that is healthy and normal. One must be willing to be a part of both, which can be the challenge.

Additionally, and this was not the point of this author, but the same can be said of the church. We each need to recognize that we can offer something to ministry. The attitude of going to church to "get something" should not be what our constant attitude towards church should be. Instead, rather we should look to attend with an attitude of what we can each give. This is not to say that we can't have a hectic week, and find ourselves really spiritually thirsty on a Sunday, but the consistent attitude of only thinking about what we can get, I believe, is an outworking of consumerism that is rampant in America, and is not something believers should adhere to. Anyway, I found this story to be both humorous but with several valid points.