We will never know how many marriages have been destroyed, how many careers have been wrecked, how many lives have been jeopardized because of some trivial incident to which we reacted negatively.
Example: During the dark days of the Depression, two brothers started a small store and shared equally in everything. They were congenial and happy, and though they were struggling for survival, they were at least making it. One day, one of the brothers placed a $1 bill on top of the cash box and then was suddenly called away on an emergency. His brother was not in the store at the time, but he knew a friend had brought the dollar in as a payment.
When the first brother returned, the dollar bill was gone. Suspecting the wind had blown it away or it had fallen on the floor, he started looking. As he was searching for the dollar, the other brother returned and inquired as to what he was doing. The searching brother explained what happened, but somehow he was not believed. Accusations followed, tension mounted, and the brothers split.
Several years later, they received a letter in the mail, written by a man who said he had walked into the store at the exact moment the first brother had been called away. He was starving, had no money and was desperate. He had seen the dollar and taken it. He enclosed a substantial repayment in hopes it would buy his forgiveness and repay his debt.
Immediately, he went to his brother and, without a word, handed him the letter. As he read it, tears filled his eyes. The brothers embraced, wept and sought forgiveness. It is a true story. What a tragedy that years of misery followed lack of trust over a $1 bill. Fortunately, the end of the story gives us something to smile about.
Example: During the dark days of the Depression, two brothers started a small store and shared equally in everything. They were congenial and happy, and though they were struggling for survival, they were at least making it. One day, one of the brothers placed a $1 bill on top of the cash box and then was suddenly called away on an emergency. His brother was not in the store at the time, but he knew a friend had brought the dollar in as a payment.
When the first brother returned, the dollar bill was gone. Suspecting the wind had blown it away or it had fallen on the floor, he started looking. As he was searching for the dollar, the other brother returned and inquired as to what he was doing. The searching brother explained what happened, but somehow he was not believed. Accusations followed, tension mounted, and the brothers split.
Several years later, they received a letter in the mail, written by a man who said he had walked into the store at the exact moment the first brother had been called away. He was starving, had no money and was desperate. He had seen the dollar and taken it. He enclosed a substantial repayment in hopes it would buy his forgiveness and repay his debt.
Immediately, he went to his brother and, without a word, handed him the letter. As he read it, tears filled his eyes. The brothers embraced, wept and sought forgiveness. It is a true story. What a tragedy that years of misery followed lack of trust over a $1 bill. Fortunately, the end of the story gives us something to smile about.
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