Beyond The Two Buckets

The fear of punishment and the hope of reward motivates a great deal of human behavior—they are the two buckets.

I love the old story of a wise woman and teacher named Rabia, who believed that there was something greater than the two buckets that dominate and oppress the lives of most human beings.

To make her point she was seen walking through the streets with a bucket of fire in one hand and a bucket of water in the other. When asked what she was doing, she said, "I want to put out the fires of hell and burn down the rewards of paradise. They block the way to love. I do not want to love from fear of punishment or for the promise of reward; love is not like being a shop-keeper trying to come out ahead.”

 Rabia, in the story above, was all in for a life of love. She did not approach love asking, “What’s in it for me?”  Not punishment, not rewards—such thoughts can be obstacles to love.

We don’t want to say: “I do what I’m doing because I’m afraid.” Love casts out fear.  And we don't want to say: “I do what I’m doing so I’ll be rewarded.” Love is not a business transaction.

How much greater is love when you do what you do because you are loved, because you love. Let love be so deep in your DNA that you just can’t help it. It’s been said that the greatest treason is to do the right things for the wrong reasons. Rabia points us to loving beyond the wrong reasons.

Love changes the atmosphere even as the warm sun of Spring takes the chill away. Never underestimate love. Nothing is more needed in the world, in our lives, than increasing the occasions and durability of love.

--Landon Saunders