WHO IS GUILTY?

A man wanted to pick a rose. Eagerly, he rushed toward it and, with a sudden jerk, plucked the flower. The rose was now in his hand, but in his haste several thorns pierced his skin. His friend said, “That was foolish. You should have taken care to avoid the thorns. You tried to do a careful task carelessly, and now your hand is injured.”

The man grew angry and said, “It’s the thorns’ fault. They cut my palm and fingers, and yet you are blaming me.” His friend replied, “My friend, this is not about the thorns—it is about the system of nature. God has made the world in such a way that flowers always come with thorns. Our protests cannot change this system. Flowers with thorns will always be part of the world. Our success lies in recognizing this reality and finding a way to protect ourselves. The way forward is to avoid the thorns while reaching for the flower, not to fight with them.”

That flowers growing with thorns is no small matter. It is nature’s way of teaching a lesson. It is the language of plants announcing a truth about human life. It is an introduction to the creative plan on which this world is built. The message is that in this world, only those efforts succeed which are made with the principle of caution in mind.

Engaging in conflict where restraint is needed, and turning to agitation where strategy is required, is simply a sign of one’s own incompetence. When God has commanded avoidance, but one chooses confrontation instead, he makes himself guilty—even if he uses every word in the dictionary to prove others guilty.