The Visitors: An Allegory

Once there was a boy who lived happily in his home with his friends: Love, Peace, and Joy. He didn’t know where they were from, or how they got there, but he couldn’t remember a time without them.

As the boy got older, a visitor came to call. His name was Vanity. His friends voiced some concerns, but the boy enjoyed Vanity and decided to let him stay. A little while later, perhaps invited by his new friend, a guest named Offense came to visit. At first he stayed only briefly, but soon his visits became more frequent and longer in duration. Eventually, he welcomed his brother Bitterness in. Bitterness settled in quickly, and didn’t seem to have any inclination to leave. From time to time the boy would think he had gone, only to be surprised to find him simply hiding out in a different room.

Soon the boy was a young man. On day, quite uninvited, Anger stormed in and brought with him his children Irritability and Strife. The boy did not like these uninvited guests. He would attempt to put them out, but they kept finding their way back in. He would try to hide them, or shut them in a closet, but they always stormed out when he least expected them. They wreaked havoc in his home, shattering windows and breaking furniture.

The boy, now a man, looked around his house and realized he hadn’t seen or heard from Love, Peace, or Joy. He actually couldn’t remember when he saw them last, or what happened to make them leave. As he thought this a distant sound caught his attention. It sounded like knocking. But before he could investigate a louder knock came at his front door. Cracking the door, he saw a beautiful woman. She reminded him of his long lost Joy, but she said her name was Pleasure. With great relief he welcomed her in.

The man began to spend much of his time with Pleasure. She was his only respite from the now relentlessness of his other houseguests, which had grown to include other unwelcome guests like Fear and Anxiety. But after a while he realized to his surprise that another visitor had snuck in with Pleasure. Her name was Addiction. He did not care for this guest at all, but he was afraid if he made her leave that Pleasure would leave with her. He decided he could keep her under control, and it was worth it to keep Pleasure.

But he soon found he couldn’t control Addiction at all. She was wild and unruly, and she began to grow stronger. As Addiction grew stronger, it seemed Pleasure grew weaker, and try as he might he couldn’t enjoy her like he once did. To make matters worse, Addiction had welcomed in new guests. Misery and Self-loathing.

The man began to spend much of his time with Misery and Self-Loathing. One day, Misery held him as he wept. Self-Loathing began to talk about the terrible state of his house. How did it ever get like this? What a terrible place! How could he have let his house get to this state? It’s no use, whispered Misery. It’ll never get better. You may as well burn it down. You’ll lose your house, but at least you’ll be free of all these terrible guests.

The man agreed. Burn it down. There’s nothing else left to do. So he went in search of matches. As he searched, a sound caught his attention. A knocking sound – weak, but desperate. He followed the sound to his basement, where to his shock he found Love. Love was weak and emaciated and almost dead. But when the man opened the door He smiled. “Love!” exclaimed the man. “You’re still here! But how did you get down here?”

“Oh, my boy!” cried Love. “I made your other guests uncomfortable. When there was enough of them they locked me down here. And they threw out Peace and Joy.” The boy, now a man, held his weakened friend Love and sobbed.

“What now, Love?” wept the man. “My house is ruined. I don’t know what to do!”

“My friend, you’ve opened your house to many bad guests. You’ve fed and sheltered them, and they’ve grown very strong. They are too strong for you and I have grown very weak. You must go to my Father, the source of all Love, and He will give you the strength you need to remove these visitors from your house.

“Then we must seek out Lady Wisdom. She will help you discern who to let in your house and who to keep out. And finally, station Thankfulness and his twin brother Gratitude to guard your door. They will keep out anyone who may try to sneak in uninvited.”

The man was quiet for a while. “But what about Peace and Joy?” he asked finally.

Love smiled. “Where Thankfulness and Gratitude are, Peace and Joy will always find their way. I think they’re rather fond of them.”

The man did everything Love told him too, and Love grew strong once more.

Years past. The man, now getting old, looked around his house. It was full of Love, Joy and Peace once again. And they had invited new friends. With Wisdom at the door, and Thankfulness and Gratitude standing guard, he had welcomed in Patience and Kindness. His old guests would stop by from time to time, but they never again made it across his threshold. Laughter couldn’t stay away long, and his household was happy the rest of his days.

“Guard you heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.”

Proverbs 4:23