—Numbers 16:5
One evening, a fellow named Tom wandered into a fabric
store to buy cloth for his wife. The storekeeper, an old hand at the trade,
flicked on all the lights, illuminating every inch of the shop like a Broadway stage.
“What kind of fabric are you looking for?” the storekeeper
asked, his voice as smooth as the silk stacked on the shelves. “Something
high-quality and durable? Or just something simple?”
Tom glanced around and waved his hand dismissively. “Oh,
it’s all the same. No difference. I’ll take whatever feels… fabric-y enough.”
He ran his fingers over the bolts of cloth, barely looking. “What’s the big
deal? It’s all just fabric, right?”
“And since it’s all the same,” Tom continued with a shrug,
“there should be one price for everything, right? I mean, it’s all… fabric.”
The storekeeper’s eyebrows shot up. He walked over to the
light switch and, without a word, flipped it off.
The shop plunged into darkness.
“Hey!” Tom yelped, a hint of panic in his voice. “Why’d
you do that?”
The storekeeper leaned against the counter. “Well,” he
said, “if everything’s the same, why bother turning on the lights? I only flip
them on so you can see the difference between the premium fabrics and… well,
the stuff that’s good for wiping up spilled coffee.”
“All Are Equal!”
That, more or less, was Korach’s argument. He stood
before Moses and declared, “The entire community is holy.” In his eyes, there
were no distinctions. No need for priests, prophets, or leaders. All are
equally holy, so all may serve in the Tabernacle. Like a man who thinks there’s
no real difference between burlap and silk.
Moses, however, warned him: “In the morning, God will
reveal who is truly close to Him.”
Morning. Why morning?
Because morning is when the world reminds you that not
everything is the same. There is light, and there is dark. And once the lights
come on, you can’t help but see the differences, whether you like it or not.
God, too, makes distinctions.
Between the sacred and the ordinary. Between wisdom and
foolishness. Between those who serve out of love, and those just angling for a
better seat.
