George Washington Monument, Boston, MA, United States. Photo: Mohan Nannapeneni
There’s a funny story about a man eager to impart to his son the value of truthfulness whatever it might ‘cost’ in life.
Murray Smith
He related the story of George Washington being given a hatchet as a gift when young. In this tale, George set about chopping down his father’s cherry tree. Upon George’s father discovering what had been done to his tree, he angrily confronted young George who bravely owned up to the deed.
“I cannot tell a lie… I did it with my hatchet.” Washington’s father embraced his son and stated that to have such an honest son was worth more than having a thousand cherry trees.
This man related the story to his boy, gratified that it appeared to hit the mark. A little later this son succumbed to mischievous temptation and pushed the family ‘out-house’ (toilet) over the bank one night. The next morning the father questioned his delinquent son. “Tell me truthfully son, did you push the out-house over the bank?”
Remembering the George Washington story, the boy replied, “I cannot tell a lie…I did push it down the bank.” The father was furious and punished his son with extra chores and loss of privileges. The sassy son responded, “but Dad, George Washington’s father hugged his son for telling the truth… why is your treatment so different ?”
The aggrieved father said, “Son the difference is, George Washington’s father was not in the cherry tree!”
Unfortunately, many of us are like that boy… seeing truth as an expedient commodity to use if it suits us, while failing to allow it to guide our actions and beliefs in the first place.
Failing to see a reality in front of us, comes down to a mindset or focus. How we ‘see’ things in life and our viewpoint, determines outcomes. A shoe company sent a representative to Africa with lots of samples to use in getting orders. He’d hardly arrived when he wrote back to his employer urgently requesting a ticket home. “This is a mistake,” he said, “nobody’s wearing shoes!”
They sent another representative who also sent an urgent message having just arrived in Africa. “Quick, we have to move fast!” he wrote, “Send money, we have to build a factory to make thousands of shoes… nobody’s wearing them!!”
The difference did not lie in what they ‘saw’, since both saw the same thing – but it was how they saw their situation – like two people viewing a glass of water filled half-way – to one it’s half empty, to another it’s half full. It’s also like two people reading a sign stating “G o d is n o w h e r e.” One reads, ‘God is nowhere’, while the other sees it as “God is now here.”
Similarly, in observing the wonder of creation, with its order, structure and design, it strikes me as unfathomable that we all view mountains of compelling evidence, yet so many steadfastly resist, or argue for a conclusion other than God being behind it all.
These things speak of our significance and inherent value to Him… to miss these truths inevitably means totally missing our intended purpose and destiny.
George Washington in front of Indiana Statehouse. Photo: Steven Van Elk.
