LACK OF WISDOM

Someone said that in most situations a person can realistically achieve the “second best,” but he runs after the “first best.” The result is that in his greed for the impossible, he loses even what was possible.

A man studied at an Islamic seminary. After graduation, he became the imam (a prayer leader) of his village mosque on a small salary. Later, he met the director of a large Islamic seminary. Recognizing his abilities, the director invited him to join the institution. Before long, he was promoted and became the director’s assistant.

Now, within the institution’s spacious compound, he was given a clean house to live in. A jeep was placed at his disposal. Along with this came a good salary and other benefits. At this point, the imam should have been grateful to God and be content. But he saw the position of assistant as “second best.” He wanted the “first best”—that is, to take the director’s seat for himself.

So, he began making different kinds of destructive plans against the director. The details are not necessary here. In short, when the director learned about these schemes, he used his influence to have the imam expelled from the institution. His belongings were thrown out onto the street. The jeep was taken away. Forced to leave the city, he returned to his village and again became a mosque imam. Worse still, the bad reputation he earned from this incident meant that no other institution was willing to accept him anymore.

In this world, the secret of success is contentment and gratitude. This is exactly what the above saying describes as “second best.” Accepting the second best does not mean putting yourself down. It means beginning with what is practical. Very often, those who accept the second-best option at the initial stage often pave the way for the first-best later on. However, those who refuse to settle for anything less than perfection early on often end up losing both the second-best and the first-best.