THE TWO TENANTS—A TALK ABOUT TAKING CARE OF THE BODY

A rich man went away, and left two beautiful houses for two men to live in. He charged them no rent, and left the mansions completely furnished with every necessity and luxury.

One man kept his house beautifully. “It is not mine,” he kept saying to himself; “it is only loaned me to live in, and I ought to take the best care of it for my kind friend.”

So he saw that nothing decayed or went to ruin about the house, and here and there wherever he saw a chance, he was continually adding something to make the house stronger or more beautiful. The furniture, also, was kept sweet and clean, no scars or scratches were permitted, and whenever the man saw an especially lovely vase or picture or rug he added it to the contents of the house.

The second man, on the contrary, treated his house shamefully. “It is not mine,” he kept saying to himself. “In a few years I must move out of it. What’s the difference if it does go to wreck and ruin?”

So to wreck and ruin it certainly did go, and as speedily as possible. The weatherboards fell off here and there, the foundations began to crumble, the plastering cracked and fell, the furniture molded, the moths got into the carpet, and soon the house was hardly to be recognized as the beautiful mansion his kind friend had loaned to him.

Children, our dear Friend up in heaven has given us our bodies to live in for a few years. They are beautiful homes. See how fair and symmetrical and perfect is everything about them. Now, ought we to treat these houses like the first man, or the second? Not like the rich man I have told you about, our Friend comes constantly to these houses he has loaned us. What does he find there? Are they sweet and clean, strong and well cared for, and all the time becoming more richly and beautifully furnished? I hope so.