The early bird catches the worm
October 23, 2026
Cupid hangs poised to let loose the arrow, to strike two hearts. Better that Cupid primes the bow and chooses another target. Many a love’s labour perishes at the altar of procrastination. The bird has flown by the time the proposer sums up the courage to breathe out the words to his life’s love; by then she is in seventh heaven with someone else who chose not to choke on his breath, but let the words do the talking and the walking to the altar.
Some wait for seven years for the year of rest to pop the magical words, “Will you marry me”, taking a knee to be knighted by the ‘queen’ as she lays her hand to the suitor’s face and raises him to his feet to kiss her. They have taken to heart Isaiah 40:31, “But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Some rush where angels fear to tread. They find their wings singed. The air in their sails is winded. Having taken the knee, they rise not. Seized by rigor mortis. The cold air of rejection pulverises their solar plexus. Going into battle unprepared is a risky proposition. Engage courtiers to sound off first, before sounding off in person. There lies success.
We are early investors in land. Way before Bangalore became the IT capital after economic liberalisation in the 90s. The trouble with assets is that they are safe when there’s plenty. Not so when they are scarce. They become, to use a morbid metaphor, carcasses, over which hover vultures, the birds of prey. Our soul is a risky asset. It is priceless. Vultures are hovering over to swoop down to grab it by its talons the moment we drop our guard.
The land that rested in peace now becomes a flashpoint for settlers. Palestine, for instance. ‘There Will Be Blood ’, the 2007 Daniel Day-Lewis-starring movie, is about moral bankruptcy from the ‘loot’ gained from oil discovery. It continues to be the American story to date where morality has been surrendered at the altar of land, oil, fame, wealth, pleasure, and freedom of choice.
After 14 years of sharing a neighbourly relationship. Good fences are meant to make good neighbours. The friendly neighbour, instigated by vested interests, chose to initiate a survey with clear intent to establish that some of his land had been encroached. His survey results exhibited precisely that. A sliver of land was the point of dispute. He wished it to be corrected.
To guard against encroachment, which was endemic, we replaced the flimsy barbed-wire fence with a solid concrete wall bearing the full cost ourselves, respecting the boundary stones. The concrete wall came free for our neighbour, which he did not value. He wanted the sliver.
We did not budge from our resolve that what is now built is built. Fourteen years was a lot of time. The matter could have been considered when there was inexpensive barbed-wire fencing. Our neighbour has taken us to court for the infringement.
“As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled on the way, or your adversary may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.” (Lk 12:58-59)
Jesus’ words hang like Damocles’ sword over our heads. The deed is now done. The matter is in the courts. We chose to let the law take its course. It is a fraction of the land. It would make no earthly difference to us. But now the matter is out of our hands and in the hands of the Good Lord and the magistrate who will rule on it. We would like the ruling to be in our favour, for we have invested in a solid wall. We do not want our labour’s love lost. And, once and for all, gain a legal stamp on our ownership.
We also have an ancestral piece of land. With this property, the right of way has become the bone of contention. Most properties have just stones marking the border or a natural mound or stream that forms the chasm that will not be trespassed.
Most country borders are natural boundaries dictated by mountain ranges that separate them. India and China are an instance. The continents are separated by oceans, within which dwell people of similar dispensation until mass-scale migration distorts the configuration.
The right of way is an interesting phenomenon and is the outgrowth of economic progress. A century and a half ago we were two-legged creatures. We walked everywhere, carrying our wares on our heads. We built our homes from the soil of the earth. We can claim we were the soil of the earth. Then from two-legged, we became two-wheeled, even four-legged if we owned a horse-cart. A factoid: the metre gauge railway lines were laid over the existing tracks of Roman chariots. Now we have broad gauge tracks for fast trains.
Times have changed. Mud houses have become mini palaces. Now the horse-cart passage will not do. The right of way is now measured or symbolised by a six-wheeled ‘agitator truck ’-the cement mixer or concrete truck. The land has also become valuable. It is back to the courts unless, out of the largeness of our heart, consent to access is given in good faith.
Jesus was not talking about property issues in Lk 12:58-59 quoted above. Jesus replied to the man who wanted his brother to give him his property, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” (Lk 12:14). Jesus was talking about our present time. “Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?” (Lk 12:56).
Let it not be too late to reconcile with the neighbour. You cannot do that at the pearly gates. The doors will be shut. Only the pure in heart can walk through a closed door. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Mt 5:8) You will pay the last penny in purgatory before you are let in. Don’t wait till it is too late. Reconcile with your brother while you can.
- Mathew Anthony
