Jeb Mortier, Laurie Mortier, Jordan Mortier, Aubrey Mortier & Amberly Mortier's personal website

There was once a king with four wives. Among his four wives, he loved his fourth wife the most. He spends most of his time with her. He gives her all the expensive clothes and jewelries that his kingdom could ever produce. He also gives her all the good things that will make her happy including many servants for her comfort.

The king also loves his third wife. He will always look out for her security. Whenever he wants something for himself, he directly goes to his third wife. She contributes a lot to his success at the same time; she helps him maintain his power in his kingdom.

The king also loves his second wife. Whenever he would have problems in his kingdom, he would directly run to his second wife. His second wife is good in giving bits of advice and at the same time, she makes him feel special.

Among his four wives, it is his first wife whom he usually takes for granted. He seldom visits her and spends time with her. He usually overlooks his responsibility to her. Oftentimes, he even forgets to give her some food. However, his first wife remains silent about her sufferings.

One day, the king got sick... very sick... The best doctors in the kingdom found no cure to the king’s illness. The doctors said that the king would die soon.

The king called his fourth wife and said to her “I have loved you the most among my other wives; I have clothed you with the best dresses and jewelries in the kingdom. Now that I am dying, would you come with me and keep me company?” The fourth wife answered, “I know that you loved me and I am very thankful for all the good things that you gave me but I am sorry, I cannot be with you until death.”

It was a big blow for the king to hear those words from his most beloved wife. He then went to his third wife and said, “I have loved you all these years and kept you secure, you have helped me gained and maintained my power. Now that I am about to die, would you go with me and keep me company?” The third wife answered, “Are you serious? I do not want to die with you! Soon after your death, I will remarry and live a happy and normal life.”

The king was devastated to hear that but he still went to his second wife and asked her, “All these years, you were there whenever I have problems, now that I am about to face death, will you still be with me and keep me company?” The second wife answered, “I am sorry but I cannot go with you. The most that I can do is to say goodbye, to mourn for your death and to visit your tomb.”

The king was really sad and tormented after hearing those words and then suddenly, he heard a soft voice from the distance, “I am willing to go with you!” When he looked, he saw his first wife. She is very thin, frail and sick because the king failed to do his responsibility to her. He overlooked feeding her and even failed to supply her needs.

With tears in his eyes, the king embraced his first wife and said, “I am very sorry... All these years, I failed to love you and give you importance. I failed to look after your needs. But in spite of all these things, you are still there willing to keep me company...”

Maybe you are all wondering who is that king with four wives. The answer is, we are the king and our kingdom is our own lives! Yes! Each one of us also has these four wives. Our fourth wife is our body. We usually array it with the best clothes and jewelries. We love it the most and take good care of it but it cannot go with us when we die. Our third wife is our possession and wealth. We put so much effort to gain those wealth and possessions but unfortunately, these things cannot go with us when we die. Instead, the moment we die, it will be handed to somebody else. The second wife is our family and friends. There are always there for us but still, they cannot go with us when we die, the most they can do is to mourn for us and visit our grave. The first wife is the spirit within us that we usually take for granted. We seldom nourish it with the Word of God. God is even an unheard priority to most of the people nowadays! Learning how to love God and putting it into action is often the last priority for most of the people. We usually put much more importance to our three wives (body, possession/wealth, and family/friends) instead of catering to the needs of the most important thing that is our spiritual lives!

Now let us pause for a while and examine our personal lives. What is our priority? Where do we spend most of our time? Could we consider ourselves as the king who love his fourth wife the most and neglect to do his responsibility to his first wife? Only you can answer these questions... As we examine ourselves let us be honest because at the end of the day, it will not be between you and your body, nor you and your money, nor you and your family.... but it will be between you and God!