Do The Right Thing!

Amazing how one devotional can speak to me in so many different ways. This was one of my devotions for today. I felt compelled to share it.

But first, last night I caught the tail end of a program I wanted to watch. It was on ABC, it was their Primetime program. The segment was called, What Would You Do? If you click on this link, you can see a 3 minute taping of last night's program. Scroll down on the tv that's on the right hand side and click on the segment called, Confronting A Bad Driver. It was a little similar to a program I watched and blogged about, called Wild Bill Stanton, Watching Your Back! Take the time to read that entry, you'll be shocked!

Ok, the segment was about someone parallel parking their car and accidentally hitting the car behind them. The fender of the parked car would fall off every time it got hit. The actor would act as if they were in a hurry trying to get to an appointment. People would stand and just stare. A Mother and her daughter who was in the early 20's, told the lady that she couldn't just leave. The actress said she was in a hurry and walked away. The ladies went into the local stores trying to find the owner of the car that had been hit. Another lady kept telling the actor that he couldn't leave. The actor told her that he was in a hurry and walked away. Then the owner of the car that was hit (another actress) came out. The lady proceeded to tell her that she had seen the man hit her car and leave the scene of the crime. The actress asked her what he looked like. She described him. Then she started to take out a paper and pen. As they were talking the actor came out. He got into his car and was going to leave. The lady told him you can't leave, you have to call the police and report this incident. She got her phone out and dialed 911. Then it all came out. Turns out, this lady is a lawyer. Her husband is a judge. Her son is a Marine and her other son was a detective. The two "victims" were two sisters who were walking with their children ( they each had two and they were 5 and 4 years olds). The same thing happened. The actress walked to her "appt." and when she got back she started to drive away. One of the sisters stayed with the children, while the other one ran after the car. She remembered she had seen a policeman around the corner and was going to get him. Once the gig was up, they were asked why get involved when you have children with you? They said, it's a life lesson for them. The interviewer sat the children down on the sidewalk and asked them what happened. They said that the lady hit the car by accident and left. He asked them what she had done was right. They said no, that it was wrong, very wrong. That she had broken something that wasn't hers and she needed to tell the truth. Out of the mouths of babes...

Well, below is the devotional, Scripture and quote, that was waiting for me this morning. Isn't it soooo like God to do things like this. What an AWESOME, MIGHTY God we have. I hope you are blessed and challenged by it...


THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Lean on God for direction, and keep leaning on Him for the wisdom and courage to finish what you begin!

SCRIPTURE FOR THE DAY: This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before…
-Philippians 3:13

The Emperor's Seed
(Author Unknown)

Once there was an emperor in the Far East who was growing old and knew it was coming time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or one of his own children, he decided to do something different.

He called all the young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, "It has come time for me to step down and to choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you." The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today. One seed. It is a very special seed. I want you to go home, plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring to me, and the one I choose will be the next emperor of the kingdom!"

There was one boy named Ling who was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the whole story. She helped him get a pot and some planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown.

After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Ling kept going home and checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by. Still nothing.

By now others were talking about their plants but Ling didn't have a plant, and he felt like a failure. Six months went by, still nothing in Ling's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed! Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn't say anything to his friends, however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she encouraged him to go, and to take his pot, and to be honest about what happened. Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He took his empty pot to the palace.

When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by all the other youths. They were beautiful, in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kids laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, "Hey nice try."

When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!"

All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. "The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!"

When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My name is Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!" Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor?

Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!"

"A good name is to be more desired than great riches" Proverbs 22:1 (NASB)

The coward seeks release from pressure. The courageous pray for strength.
-Frances J. Roberts