PREJUDICE: THE CAUSE OF MISUNDERSTANDING

Peter was very helpful, kindhearted, and generous. He used to help anyone in need.  One day while walking into a dusty road, he saw a purse, so he picked it up and noticed that the purse was empty. Suddenly a woman with a policeman showed up and got him arrested.

The woman kept on asking where did he hide her money but the man replied, “It was empty when I found it, Madam.” The woman yelled at him, “Please give it back. It’s for my son’s school fees.”

The man noticed that the woman really felt sad, so he handed all his money.  He could say that the woman was a single mother.  The man said, “Take these, sorry for the inconvenience.”  The woman left and a policeman held the man for further questioning.

The woman was very happy but when she counted her money, later on, it was doubled, she was shocked.  One day while the woman was going to pay her son’s school fees towards the school, she noticed that some skinny man was walking behind her.  She thought that he may rob her, so she approached a policeman standing nearby.  He was the same policeman, who she took along to inquire about her purse.  The woman told him about the man following her, but suddenly they saw that man collapsing.  They ran at him and saw that he was the same man whom they arrested a few days back for stealing the purse.

He looked very weak and the woman was confused.  The policeman said to the woman, “He didn’t return your money; he gave you his money that day.  He wasn’t the thief but hearing about your son’s school fees, he felt sad and gave you his money.”  Later, they helped the man stand up, and the man told the woman, “I saw you and followed you to be sure that no one steals your money!”   The woman was speechless.

Life gives you strange experiences, sometime it shocks you and sometimes it may surprise you. We end up making wrong judgments or mistakes in our anger, desperation and frustration. However, when you get a second chance, correct your mistakes and return the favor. Be kind and generous. Learn to appreciate what you are given.

GIVE JUST ENOUGH TO KEEP THE ROOTS STRONGER

Once upon a time, there were two neighbors living next to each other. One of them was a retired teacher and another was an insurance agent who had a lot of interest in technology. Both of them had planted different plants in their garden. The retired teacher was giving a small amount of water to his plants and didn’t always give a full attention to them, while the other neighbor interested in technology, had given a lot of water to his plants and looked after them too well.

The retired teacher’s plants were simple but looked good. The insurance agent’s plants were much fuller and greener. One day, during the night, there was a heavy rain and a wind due to a minor storm. Next morning, both of the neighbors came out to inspect the damage to their garden. The neighbor who was an insurance agent saw that his plants came off from the roots and were totally destroyed. But, the retired teacher’s plants were not damaged at all and were standing firm.

The insurance agent neighbor was surprised to see it, he went to the retired teacher and asked, “We both grew the same plants together, I actually looked after my plants better than you did for yours, and even gave them more water. Still, my plants came off from the roots, while yours didn’t. How is that possible?”

The retired teacher smiled and said, “You gave your plants more attention and water, but because of that they didn’t need to work themselves for it.  You made it easy for them.  While I gave them just an adequate amount of water and let their roots search for more.   And, because of that, their roots went deeper and that made their position stronger.  That is why my plants survived”.

This story is about parenting where children are like plants.  If everything is given to them, they will not understand the hard work it takes to earn those things.  They will not learn to work themselves and respect it.  Sometimes it’s best to guide them instead of giving them.   Teach them how to walk, but let them follow their path.

WHO IS JESUS TO YOU?

A priest, passing through his church in the middle of the day, decided to pause by the altar to see who came to pray. Just then the back door opened, and a man came down the aisle. The minister frowned as he saw the man hadn't shaved in a while. His shirt was torn and shabby, and his coat was worn and frayed. The man knelt down and bowed his head, then rose and walked away.

In the days that followed at precisely noon, the preacher saw this chap: each time he knelt just for a moment and went off. The minister's suspicions grew, with robbery a main fear, and he decided to stop and ask the man, “What are you doing here?”

The old man said, “I am a factory worker and lunch is half an hour. Lunchtime is my prayer time to derive strength and power. I stay only a moment because the factory's far away. As I kneel here talking to the Lord, this is kind of what I say: I just came by to tell You, Lord, how happy I have been, since we found each other’s friendship and you took away my sin! I don’t know how to pray, but I think about You every day. So Jesus, This Is Ben, Just Checking In Today.”

The minister, feeling foolish, told Ben that it was fine. He told the man that he was welcome to pray there anytime. “It's time to go, and thanks,” Ben said as he hurried to the door. Then the minister knelt there at the altar, which he'd never done before. His heart melted, warmed with love, as he met with  Jesus there. As the tears flowed down his cheeks, He repeated old Ben's prayer: “I just came by to tell You, Lord, how happy I have been, since we found each other’s friendship and you took away my sin! I don’t know how to pray, but I think about You every day. So Jesus, This Is Ben, Just Checking In Today.”

Past noon one day, the minister noticed that old Ben hadn't come. As more days passed and still no Ben, hence he began to worry about something might have happened to him. He went into the factory and found that Ben was ill and admitted in the hospital.

The week that Ben was in the hospital, changes started to usher in the ward. His smile and joy was contagious.  The head nurse couldn't understand why Ben could be so glad even when no flowers, calls or cards came, not a visitor he had.

The minister stayed by his bed, He voiced the nurse's concern: No friends had come to show they cared. He had nowhere to turn. Looking surprised, old Ben spoke up and with a winsome smile;  “The nurse is wrong, she couldn't know, He's been here all the while. Every day at noon He comes here, a dear friend of mine, you see, He sits right down and takes my hand, leans over and says to me: “I Just Came By To Tell You, Ben, How Happy I Have Been, Since We Found This Friendship, And I Took Away Your Sin. I Think About You Always, And I Love To Hear You Pray. And So Ben, This Is Jesus, Just Checking In Today.'

Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart... May God hold you in the palm of His hand and Angels watch over you. 

VALUE LIFE; NOT DEATH

Isn’t it a paradox that we have reversed many things we ought to do?  The following is received recently for us to ponder of our perspective in life:

1. We care more for the dead than we do for the living!

2. We spend more to bury a person than we do to save their life.

3. We will not travel to go to see a sick relative but will travel to bury him /her.

4. People will rarely respect you while alive but will want to "pay their last respects" to your casket.

5. A person may never receive roses in their entire life but they will get lots dumped on their graveyard!

6. We will spend a night at a neighbour's funeral and it will be our first time to see the inside of their house!

7. No one cares to know your community until you die and they will all fill car after car to "escort" your corpse.

8. We will take the dead to the mosque/temple/church, knowing fully well they had nothing to do with God while alive.

9. We might not have granite tops in our kitchens but use the granite in the graveyard!

10. A person may under no circumstances be able to afford a limousine ride when alive but will be driven in one when dead!

We have a culture of "hypocrisy" ... a culture that is "Pro-death" and not "Pro-life!"

We need to value life BEFORE death.

Please love people while they are alive, show them your kindness when they need it, your presence at their funeral will never make up for your absence when they needed you. Do it now rather than regret later.