Helping Hands: A Story Of The Essence Of Reciprocity And Community Support

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“Helping hands are better than praying lips”
Mother Theresa

One day a very selfish man died and traveled to the gates of heaven. He was met by St. Peter at the gate, who surprised by the man’s untimely presence questioned him, “what are you doing here Ntim? It is not your time yet.”

“Not my time? How do you mean? But I am here aren’t I?” Ntim replied.

“Ntim, it is not your time. How did you get here?” Peter patiently asked.

“Well if you must know, the last thing I remember was falling from the tall coconut tree at my backyard. May I pass?” Ntim replied impatiently. He was itching to enter the gates.

“What business do you have climbing coconut trees at your age Ntim? Where were the young men?” Peter asked.

Ntim scratched his head and cast down his eyes, “well I refused their offer of helping hands, I did not want to share my coconut fruit with them,”

“You refused their helping hands because you didn’t want to offer any of your coconut as gratitude for their help? And that is why you’re here? St. Peter asked perplexed.

“Something like that,” Ntim replied, embarrassed at the admission.

“You can’t come in son. Selfishness isn’t welcome here,” Peter said.

“So then why am I here at this gate? Ntim asked.

“I think I know why you’re here,” Peter replied signaling a young angel over, “take this man on an excursion, he needs a lesson on community support and why helping hands are better than praying lips. Take him to hell first.”

The young angel took Ntim’s hand and off they went. In hell Ntim was surprised to see a huge banquet table laid out. Every kind of food from every corner of the world was laid out on the table, and up arose a delicious, appetizing aroma. Ntim’s stomach grumbled, but the angel’s firm hand on his shoulder was enough warning to him not to approach the table. And so they both stood a good distance to observe.

A great many guests were seated at the banquet table. And Ntim observed curiously, despite the abundance of food, each one of them was skin and bones, malnourished and miserable.

It didn’t take long for him to figure out why. Because growing out of each guest’s right hand was the longest spoon he ever saw, and when they scooped a spoonful of tantalizing food, no matter how much they tried, they just couldn’t bring the food to their mouths. There was no way to shorten the spoon or maneuver it, since it grew straight from the palm. And so Ntim watched as the guests tried again and again, failing to get a single morsel of food into their bodies. It was a miserable sight and the spectator was saddened indeed.

“Time to go to heaven, another community awaits” the angel told him.

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And off they went.

In heaven Ntim was surprised to see the same kind of banquet laid out. And again he observed a great many guests with long spoons in their hands. His surprise though was that the guests in heaven were healthy, plump and evidently well nourished.

“What is going on here?” He asked the angel.

“Watch and learn the power of helping hands and community spirit,” the young angel replied.

To Ntim’s astonishment, the guests began to do something incredible; whenever each guest took a scoop of food, they leveraged the benefit of the spoon’s length to feed the guest sitting opposite them. And by so doing, they fed each other to satisfaction.

“This is wonderful! And so simple!” Ntim exclaimed.

lend a helping hand
community support — Help your community.

“Hands that help each other, Ntim. Reciprocity. Community support. Maybe even a little grace and gratitude, that’s all a community needs to flourish,” St. Peter said, walking to stand behind Ntim.

“I get the point now,” Ntim said soberly.

“Ready to go back now?” St. Peter asked. Ntim nodded in the affirmative.

Mr. Ntim, the single most selfish man stood at his backyard, observing his ripe and ready to eat coconut fruits.

“We can climb the tree and harvest them for you sir, for a taste of some of that coconut juice,” three young siblings, sons of his longtime neighbors shouted from their backyard.

“Come on over then young men. I could use some helping hands. Harvest as many fruits as you can, take some for yourselves and bring me a couple,” Ntim replied.

The siblings were flummoxed, “Are you serious?” They asked.

“Come on over, before I change my mind,” Ntim said smiling.

The entire neighborhood would never understand the sudden shift in Ntim but they did appreciate it. He became a figure of unity and support within their community, and together, they built a strong community that lifted each other up.

“Abundance is a dance with reciprocity – what we can give, what we can share, and what we receive in the process.”
Terry Tempest Williams

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Adwoa Danso

I am a connoisseur of life stories, and writing is my first love. I believe we can empower, educate and uplift by telling our stories. Writing is my happy place.

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