There once was a millionaire who owned a lot in an exclusive residential area of New York City. This particular lot presented a very unusual problem. The lot was five feet wide and about a hundred feet long. He couldn't do anything with such an odd sized lot, so he decided to sell it one of the neighbors on either side. But when he went to the neighbors, they didn't want to give him anything for it. They basically said, "Look, you can't build on it and you can't sell it to anyone else. So take our offer or leave it." The millionaire was so angered by their refusal and rebuttal that he decided to get even.
He hired an architect and a contractor, and had a house designed for that weird shaped lot. It was five feet wide and ran the entire length of the property. He moved in and set up house in this narrow house. Each room was barely wide enough for a single piece of furniture. His hatred for the people on either side of this small lot made him decide to ruin the look of the entire area.
The neighbors complained that it was a blight to the neighborhood. But the city fathers couldn't find any code forbidding it. This millionaire moved into it, and lived there the rest of his life. The only one who was really punished was him. He moved into a long narrow little house that held only hate and discomfort. The house became known throughout the neighborhood as "Spite House." It still stands to day as a monument to one man's hatred.
When I first read that story, I thought, surely this is an exaggeration. So, I did some research trying to find out whether this was a true story or just one of those myths that has been passed on. Not only did I find out that it was true. I found out the man's name. But what was even more shocking is the fact that I found no less than eight other "Spite Houses" in a simple search online.
There's one in Carlsbad, New Mexico, built to block the Mayor's view and annoy him. There are two in San Francisco; One at Deadman's Point, Maine; one in Huntsville, Alabama; one in Boston, one that is supposed to be haunted and has been turned into a Bed & Breakfast in Fredrick, Maryland; and a triangle shaped "Spite House" in Montlake, Washington, a suburb of Seattle.
Our passage today from the Gospel of Matthew is the parable of the ungrateful servant. It's story about our debt of sin. It's about God's free and redeeming grace. It's also about anger and spite, and the judgment that follows an unforgiving spirit. Let's look at the passage.
Note: This story is essentially true but the reasons for construction are a little different: The Richardson Spite House, as it is known, in New York City at Lexington Avenue and 82nd Street was built in 1882 and demolished in 1915. It was four stories tall, 104 feet (31.7 m) wide, and only five feet (1.5 m) deep. Joseph Richardson, the owner of the plot, built it after the owner of an adjacent plot, Hyman Sarner, unsuccessfully tried to purchase the land. Sarner considered the plot useless by itself and offered only $1000; Richardson demanded $5000. After the deal fell through, Richardson had an apartment building constructed on his land. It was a functional (albeit impractical) apartment building with eight suites, each consisting of three rooms and a bath.
A Spite House is a building constructed or substantially modified to irritate neighbors or any party with land stakes. Because long-term occupation is not the primary purpose of these houses, they frequently sport strange and impractical structures.