Many years ago in a small Indian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal. So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter.
He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.
If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven. But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.
They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag.
He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag. Now, imagine you were standing in the field. What would you have done if you were the girl?
If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?
Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:
1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.
2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the money-lender as a cheat.
3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.
Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking. The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking.
Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers.
What would you recommend to the Girl to do?
The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.
"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked."
Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the money-lender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't attempt to think.
Monday, August 16, 2004
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
Sleeping with the Givers
One Mercedes Benz TV commercial shows its car colliding with a cement wall during the safety test. Somebody asked the company spokesman why they do not enforce their patent on the Mercedes Benz energy-absorbing car body, a design evidently copied by other companies because of its success. The spokesman's reply: "Because some things in life are too important not to share."
...Even in a dog-eat-dog, cutthroat world of business, sharing has its place.
God has never intended for us to cling to the things He lavished on us. All the talents, all the gifts, all the blessings are meant to be shared.
There's a story of a Pastor who was profusely thanked by a farmer after hearing his sermon on giving. The Pastor, testing the farmer, asked, "If you had one hundred horses, would you give me fifty?" The farmer replied, "Certainly!" The Pastor went on, "If you had one hundred cows, would you give me fifty?" And the farmer nodded again. If you had two pigs, would you give me one?" the Pastor continued. The farmer lost his cool and said, "Now, cut that out, Pastor, You know that I have two pigs!"
If there's one thing I have come to understand in this life, it is this: giving is always more blessed than receiving. As we give our time, talent and treasures to those who need them, the joy we experience is indescribable.
Take a good look around you and you'll see that the people who are in the business of giving are usually the happiest people on earth. That officemate who keeps on sharing her food during breaks, listening to those in distress. That manager who shares his knowledge and expertise to the new employees. [And many more like them.] These people are always enjoying every minute of what they are doing.
What can you give? Well, you can give your love for a start. A little of your precious time. A portion of your treasure. You don't have to look far. Those who are in need are near you, even right beside you.
"It has been said that the world is full of two kinds of people, the givers and the takers. The takers eat well, but the givers sleep well."
By Francis J. Kong
Excerpted from his book: Only The Real Matters
...Even in a dog-eat-dog, cutthroat world of business, sharing has its place.
God has never intended for us to cling to the things He lavished on us. All the talents, all the gifts, all the blessings are meant to be shared.
There's a story of a Pastor who was profusely thanked by a farmer after hearing his sermon on giving. The Pastor, testing the farmer, asked, "If you had one hundred horses, would you give me fifty?" The farmer replied, "Certainly!" The Pastor went on, "If you had one hundred cows, would you give me fifty?" And the farmer nodded again. If you had two pigs, would you give me one?" the Pastor continued. The farmer lost his cool and said, "Now, cut that out, Pastor, You know that I have two pigs!"
If there's one thing I have come to understand in this life, it is this: giving is always more blessed than receiving. As we give our time, talent and treasures to those who need them, the joy we experience is indescribable.
Take a good look around you and you'll see that the people who are in the business of giving are usually the happiest people on earth. That officemate who keeps on sharing her food during breaks, listening to those in distress. That manager who shares his knowledge and expertise to the new employees. [And many more like them.] These people are always enjoying every minute of what they are doing.
What can you give? Well, you can give your love for a start. A little of your precious time. A portion of your treasure. You don't have to look far. Those who are in need are near you, even right beside you.
"It has been said that the world is full of two kinds of people, the givers and the takers. The takers eat well, but the givers sleep well."
By Francis J. Kong
Excerpted from his book: Only The Real Matters
Monday, August 02, 2004
The Hidden Treasure
A man was exploring some caves by the seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls.It was like someone had rolled up some clay and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man so he took the bag out of the cave with him.
As he strolled along the beach, to pass the time, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could throw.
He thought little about it until he dropped one of the balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone. Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure.
He found hundreds of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left, then it struck him.
He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of hundreds of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home thousands, but he just threw it away.
You know sometimes, it's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside.
It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it; we see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy.
But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person by God.
There is a treasure in each and every one of us. The Bible says we are fearfully and wonderfully made. I don't think he means just our physical bodies. I think he means our spiritual selves, which are sometimes hidden from others by the *earthen vessel*.
But if you take the time to get to know that person, and if you ask the Father to show you that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.
As he strolled along the beach, to pass the time, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could throw.
He thought little about it until he dropped one of the balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone. Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure.
He found hundreds of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left, then it struck him.
He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of hundreds of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home thousands, but he just threw it away.
You know sometimes, it's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside.
It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it; we see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy.
But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person by God.
There is a treasure in each and every one of us. The Bible says we are fearfully and wonderfully made. I don't think he means just our physical bodies. I think he means our spiritual selves, which are sometimes hidden from others by the *earthen vessel*.
But if you take the time to get to know that person, and if you ask the Father to show you that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)