If You Say You Are Going To Do Something Then Make Sure That You Do It

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The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf Is Not A Fairy Tale.
It Is A Very Real And True Story About Life.

For the past fifteen years I have been reading to small children, grades K through 6, on the first Wednesday of every month at a private Christian Academy while school is in session. The books from which I read are of many different sizes and shapes and cover a wide variety of subject matter. Of course, I always take several buckets of assorted candies (mostly chocolates) as a “Treat” both “before-and-after-the-story” is read. Now you know why the kids love for me to come every month and read to them. From my personal experience, chocolate has always been an attractor of small children.

I read fairy tales to the kindergarten and first grade classes. Now hear me out before you jump to any incorrect conclusions. I tell the students before reading the story that the only difference between fairy tales and real life lessons is that animals, trees, automobiles, and other like kind inanimate objects do the talking in addition to people in the stories. However every fairy tale story is filled with truths of life and when you use your own mind to think through the tale being told, you will always find a moral or a critical life lesson that you can learn from the story and then apply to living your life as you grow and mature. The other great thing about reading or listening to fairy tales is that they cause you to use your own God-given imagination, and that is one the best things any person can learn how to use…particularly when they are young. The serendipity benefit of reading to children is that you create a real desire in their hearts and minds to begin to read more on their own and really think about and learn from the books they are reading. This triggers a lifelong desire and developed habit of reading that will continue on through the child’s life. All really great leaders of other people are or were also readers of great books!

I started thinking about how many people I have worked with over the years that obviously never learned the lessons of life that are told within the content of the fairy tale stories. I can only assume that those poor folks never had parents who were willing to teach their children the blessings and benefits of reading from an early age. I well remember reading lots of stories in grammar school. But I also remember reading lots of stories in my own bedroom at home, or out on the patio, or under a big shade tree, or beside a trout stream or lake. Of course, I vividly remember listening to many such tales of truth and life while sitting around hundreds of campfires with my eyes and ears wide open and my mouth shut tight as my parents told and retold stories from out of the past. I can still to this day hear the snapping and crackling of the fire and the aromas wafting around the fire-pit from the different types of wood being burned. I can almost hear my mom and dad’s voices ringing out over their children and invited guests who were quietly sitting around the flames intently listening to the stories.

With all this preliminary discussion, I would also tell you that those stories and fairy tales to which I listened always reached a climax with the point of the story or its moral clearly established and throughly discussed. Life Lesson learned…class dismissed!

The one fairy tale that stands out in my memory is the story about a little boy who cried wolf. Many of you readers will remember that this tale is about a shepherd boy who was given (for the first time) the responsibility to watch over his father’s flock of sheep grazing on an open hillside for an entire day and night all by himself. The young boy was told that the biggest threat to his own safety and that of the sheep was an attack by wolves. He was instructed that if such an attack was to occur that he was to yell at the top of his lungs for help. His yell for help would alert the nearby townspeople and other shepherds and they would come running to his aid.

For the next three days, the little boy dutifully watched over his father’s flock of sheep. Everything went well and without incident. Boredom began to set in. The boy became lonely. There just wasn’t much happening to observe or to be entertained. So just as a check of the safety-support system, the boy decided to test the “wolf alarm.” He screamed “Wolf!” “Wolf!” “Help me.” “Wolf!” The townspeople came rushing to aid the little boy, so did the nearby shepherds. When the protectors arrived at the campsite, they found no wolf. There was no danger to the little boy, and no sheep had been harmed in any way….a complete false alarm! The boy’s father severely scolded him for interrupting other people’s work when there was no real need to do it. He was told that there was no reason at all to give out false alarms,…and that there was no need to ever do it again!

Three days later, boredom again got the best of the little boy. To amuse himself he decided to try the alarm system again. He screamed “Wolf!” “Wolf!” “Help Me.” “Wolf!” Once again the townspeople and surrounding shepherds stopped whatever they were doing and came running to assist the little boy. Being very irritated at another false alarm, the boy’s much embarrassed father warned the son to never, never, never,…give out a false alarm again. Being disrespectful to other people is never a good idea!

About a week later, being alone and becoming bored again, the boy hesitatingly, but kind of excitingly thought about giving out another “wolf alarm.” He knew better than to do it, but it was so much fun and amusement to watch the people all come running to him. It gave the shepherd a feeling of strength and power when the townspeople obediently responded to his call for help. “Why not? The little boy reasoned with himself. Sure, just one last time. It won’t really hurt anyone or anything.”

And so the little shepherd again screamed out, “Wolf!” “Wolf!” “Help Me!” “Wolf!” Here came the townspeople the third time, but there was no wolf. Highly embarrassed, the disgruntled father reprimanded the boy and informed him that if he ever again gave out a false alarm he would be severely punished. Enough was enough.

Whenever a person is unproductive it is very easy to become bored. The shepherd just sat all day and watched the sheep eat and drink and wander around. There was not much to occupy the little mind. Another uneventful week passed.

It was almost as if the little boy could not help himself. He allowed his mind to wander back to his selfish excitement of seeing all of the townspeople come running to him. He remembered how thrilling it was to see his fellow shepherds race to his assistance. They all seemed so worried about the little boy’s welfare. At this point, the boy was the total center of attention.

His day-dreaming suddenly ended with the intrusion of a real, vicious, and starving wolf! The little shepherd awoke wide-eyed from his daydreaming thoughts. He immediately realized that he was in big trouble. The growling wolf was huge and highly irritated. Its attention was focused on the little shepherd. The shepherd was completely frightened. He realized his own life was in great danger. “Help!” He shouted. “Help Me!”…”Wolf!” “Wolf!” “Please Help Me!” But the townspeople and other nearby shepherds did not respond. They all figured that this time it was just another false alarm. They decided to save themselves the time and effort of running all the way out to the little shepherd’s grazing area only to be insulted again by the little shepherd’s untrue screams for assistance.

No other people bothered to come to the aid of the little boy. The wolf circled closer and closer to the sheep’s guardian. Panic set into the little shepherd’s mind. He screamed yet again, however, no aid was given to him. His past performance had set a terrible example. Other people’s trust of him had disintegrated. No townspeople or other shepherds believed the little boy was telling the truth. His own bad reputation as a liar took precedence. Consequently no one showed up to aid the little shepherd. The vicious wolf closed in on the boy, and killed and ate him!

The moral of the tale is quite simple, sad, and impactful: Always tell the truth. Never lie. Never make jokes about dangerous things that might kill you. There is never a need to over-state the rewards and benefits of doing things right. There is never a need to over-promise and under-deliver. Just be honest and truthful and everything will be fine.

Now if you are wondering why I am telling you this simple story, it is because even to this day far too many people are eager and willing to tell you something that they will do with you or that they will do to or for you. However, when it comes time for them to act, they somehow fail to perform, they fail to make a good contribution to the required effort, or they simply forget about their promised performance and don’t even show up where the effort is needed or is being extended. They are unaccountable and cause great damage not only to themselves, but also to many other people around them. Sadly, most of these type people are so self centered and unaware of their inability to correctly follow through on their personal commitments, that they have no idea what it is to be a contributing team member. Somehow, someway, they never realize anyone else is depending upon them to perform. It takes teamwork to make the dreamwork. Every team member must be reliable if the team is to win.

Just remember, if you truly do want to succeed, then Never give productive resources to unproductive people,…because they will never use them. They will always squander them and leave you waiting and wanting for their assistance.

I exhort you to be a person of your word. Be good for your word and be so totally accountable that everyone working with you knows that your word can always be completely relied upon,…can be “taken to the bank.”

 

Peace and Love to All of You……………..Poppa Bear

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