This religious parable goes my many names. It has been called the Parable of the Drowning Man, the Parable of the Flood, or simply “Two Boats and a Helicopter.” I first heard it in an episode in the first season of The West Wing.
Share this story with your kids when they are struggling to get an answer from God. It will hopefully teach them to look for signs of his presence in everyday life and to appreciate the help from people around them.
Two Boats and Helicopter Story
A storm descends on a small town, and the downpour soon turns into a flood. As the waters rise, the local preacher kneels in prayer on the church porch, surrounded by water. By and by, one of the townsfolk comes up the street in a canoe.
“Better get in, Preacher. The waters are rising fast.”
“No,” says the preacher. “I have faith in the Lord. He will save me.”
Still the waters rise. Now the preacher is up on the balcony, wringing his hands in supplication, when another guy zips up in a motorboat.
“Come on, Preacher. We need to get you out of here. The levee’s gonna break any minute.”
Once again, the preacher is unmoved. “I shall remain. The Lord will see me through.”
After a while the levee breaks, and the flood rushes over the church until only the steeple remains above water. The preacher is up there, clinging to the cross, when a helicopter descends out of the clouds, and a state trooper calls down to him through a megaphone.
“Grab the ladder, Preacher. This is your last chance.”
Once again, the preacher insists the Lord will deliver him.
And, predictably, he drowns.
A pious man, the preacher goes to heaven. After a while he gets an interview with God, and he asks the Almighty, “Lord, I had unwavering faith in you. Why didn’t you deliver me from that flood?”
God shakes his head. “What did you want from me? I sent you two boats and a helicopter.”
Source: Psychology Today (2009) via Wikipedia
The West Wing Version (Aaron Sorkin)
(This version of the story first appeared in season 1 of The West Wing in an episode titled “Take This Sabbath Day” on February 9, 2000)
You remind me of the man that lived by the river. He heard a radio report that the river was going to rush up and flood the town, and that the all the residents should evacuate their homes.
But the man said, “I’m religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me.”
The waters rose up. A guy in a rowboat came along and he shouted, “Hey, hey you, you in there. The town is flooding. Let me take you to safety.”
But the man shouted back, “I’m religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me.”
A helicopter was hovering overhead and a guy with a megaphone shouted, “Hey you, you down there. The town is flooding. Let me drop this ladder and I’ll take you to safety.”
But the man shouted back that he was religious, that he prayed, that God loved him and that God will take him to safety.
Well . . . the man drowned. And standing at the gates of St. Peter he demanded an audience with God.
“Lord,” he said, “I’m a religious man, I pray, I thought you loved me. Why did this happen?”
God said, “I sent you a radio report, a helicopter and a guy in a rowboat. What the hell are you doing here?”
The Parable of the Drowning Man (Two Boats and a Helicopter) Discussion Questions
- Why didn’t the man welcome the help from the boats or the helicopter?
- Some say the moral of this story is “God helps those who help themselves.” Do you agree? Why or why not?
- When you are struggling, who does God usually send to help you? What do they do?
- What are you praying for the most lately? Who do you know that can help you right now?
