WHAT YOU PLANT IS WHAT YOU REAP

WHAT YOU PLANT IS WHAT YOU REAP

An emperor in the Far East was
growing old and knew it was
time to choose his successor.
Instead of choosing one of his
assistants or his children, he
decided something different. He called young people in the
kingdom together one day. He
said, "It is time for me to step
down and choose the next
emperor. I have decided to
choose one of you."
An emperor in the Far East was
growing old and knew it was
time to choose his successor.
Instead of choosing one of his
assistants or his children, he
decided something different. He called young people in the
kingdom together one day. He
said, "It is time for me to step
down and 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 very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it and come back here after one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!"
One boy named Ling was there
that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the story. She helped him get a pot and 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 checking his seed, but
nothing ever grew. 3 weeks, 4
weeks, 5 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 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 the other youths. They were beautiful in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kinds 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. "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!"
*********
If you plant honesty, you will
reap trust.
If you plant goodness, you will
reap friends.
If you plant humility, you will
reap greatness.
If you plant perseverance, you
will reap victory.
If you plant consideration, you
will reap harmony.
If you plant hard work, you will
reap success.
If you plant forgiveness, you will
reap reconciliation.
If you plant openness, you will
reap intimacy.
If you plant patience, you will
reap improvements.
If you plant faith, you will reap
miracles.
But
If you plant dishonesty, you will
reap distrust.
If you plant selfishness, you will
reap loneliness.
If you plant pride, you will reap
destruction.
If you plant envy, you will reap
trouble.
If you plant laziness, you will
reap stagnation.
If you plant bitterness, you will
reap isolation.
If you plant greed, you will reap
loss.
If you plant gossip, you will reap
enemies.
If you plant worries, you will reap
wrinkles.
If you plant sin, you will reap
guilt.
*********
So be careful what you plant
now, It will determine what you
will reap tomorrow, The seeds
you now scatter, Will make life
worse or better, your life or the
ones who will come after. Yes,
someday, you will enjoy the
fruits, or you will pay for the
choices you plant today