Be honest
Remember, whatever you do, whatever you say, God is always watching. Nothing remains hidden from Him. So be careful of what you say, and always do what is right.
Honest is the mother of all virtues. If you are honest, you will always admit mistakes and improve yourself. Everybody dislikes a person who lays cheats, besides dishonesty is always harmful.
We all know the story of the shepherd boy who cried wolf. The boy decided to have some fun at the expense of the villagers. He shouted, ``Help, help, the wolf is here! ‘’ the villagers heard and came to his rescue. But when they got there, they saw no wolf and the boy laughed at them. They went away. The next day, the boy played the same trick and the same thing happened. Then one day while the boy was taking care of his sheep he actually saw a wolf and shouted for help. The people in the village heard him but this time nobody came to his rescue. They thought it was another trick and didn’t trust him any more. He lost all his sheep to the wolf.
When you tell lies, you lose credibility. Once credibility is lost even when you tell the truth, no one believes you.
Actually, the power of choosing good and evil is within the reach of all. Make the right choice. Honesty has its own rewards.
Right choice
Suresh’s grandfather was a wise and honorable man. Suresh shared a great bond with him. He would tell him all his secrets and is grandfather understood. He loved him immensely.
One day Suresh was playing cricket with his friends in the field behind Mrs. Govind’s house. While batting, Suresh hit the ball hard. The ball soared high and ended up shattering old lady Khosla’s kitchen window. All of them ran away.
While walking home, Suresh’s best friend said, ``don’t worry, how will she ever know who did it? She’s blind as a bat.’’
On reaching home Suresh went straight to his grandfather. Seeing the expression on his face grandfather understood that something was wrong. Suresh then narrated everything to his grandfather.
Grandfather said, ``you know you have been warned so many times not to play there.’’
`` I was wrong. But what do I do now? If I tell her she will be very angry. So I suppose I will pretend as if nothing happened’’, Suresh said. ``Well, it is your decision. But then would you be proud of yourself? In case you tell her, what is the worst that can happen? She may scold you or maybe seen appreciate your honesty. But then you will be proud of yourself, for telling the truth. The choice is yours’’, said grandfather calmly.
Suresh thought for a moment. Taking a deep breath he said, ``Well, I will go say sorry to Mrs. Khosla and offer to fix her window.’’
Grandfather smiled and patted him. He said, ``Doing what’s right may not be always easy. Owning up to what you are not proud of is the hardest thing to do. Choosing to be honest –even when you don’t have to be –makes others trust you and respect you, I am proud of you, son.’’
Suresh felt very good about himself. He silently thanked grandfather for helping/ guiding him to choose what is right.
After this incident, Suresh and Mrs. Khosla became close friends. She appreciated his honesty. She said, ``never be ashamed to speak the truth’’.