A King and His Servant

There was an servant and a master, a powerful king; the two were close and delighted in each other. The king would say, "do this." And the eager servant would hurry and do his master's bidding; the king would say, "do that." And the servant would do that thing with delight.

There came a day when the servant came to his good king and asked, "what would you have me do today, do you have me go and do trade in the foreign countries, be an ambassador for your majesty?" The king then replied, "I will have you wait here, but until that time do what is already required of you until then." The servant was delighted and went about his business.

The following day, the servant again asked, "what would you have me do today, go to the merchants and do trade with them; or go to a distant land and be your ambassador there?"

The king replied, "I would have you wait here, but until that time do what is already required of you until then."

And the servant went about his business. This happened again the day after. The servant then pressed his master, "Sire, I do what is required of me with joy, and I will continue to do so. But please forgive me, I ask what is it that you have me waiting for? There are pressing matters that I feel should be attended to, trade that should be conducted, places where you are not known or represented."

The king turned to his servant and asked, "am I not a good king, and have I not delighted in you as you have delighted in me? Have I not told you my plans when I feel the time is right, and held nothing back from you?"

The servant fell prostrate, "please do not be angry my lord."

The king replied, "my friend, my friend, I am not angry with you; merely trust me. I am preparing something that I will entrust to you later, be ready when the time comes; but I will have you wait until that time, but do what is already required of you until then."

How then shall the servant respond?

Therefore, do not worry nor concern yourself with what you don't know, but be ever ready when the king calls you, and do what he requires of you now.