“Keep myself morally straight: Know what’s important.”
Every so often we read news articles and see TV reports about a “big shot” who has violated the public trust and gets sent to jail. Some of these people are executives in large corporations, and some of them are powerful politicians. All of them had a job that involved serving the public, but they began to feel so important because of their “big shot” job that they began to think that they could get away with anything. When they think they are really important, they forget that they should be working to make the world a better place, and they think they are working only to serve themselves.
Aesop was a man who lived in ancient Greece and was highly respected for his wisdom. He told many short stories or fables to teach people the best way to live. The fables were about animals, but had clear applications to people. Here is a story he told about a donkey and religion. Of course, the religion was the religion of ancient Greece, not any of our modern religions, but even though religion has changed, people have not changed. The story is really about thinking you are more important than you are.
According to Aesop, a donkey was carrying an image in a religious procession which went through a town. All the people who passed by the donkey made a low bow of respect. When he saw this, the donkey, supposed that they intended this worship for himself, and he became mighty puffed up, and would not budge another step. But the driver soon laid the stick across his back, saying at the same time, “You silly dolt! It is not you that they reverence, but the image which you carry.”
All of us, like the donkey in the fable, carry images. When people see us, they see our parents and assume that whether we do good or bad things, we are representing what our parents have taught us. When we wear the Scout uniform, people have respect for us, because they respect the Boy Scouts. We don’t even have to be wearing the full uniform. Maybe someone gave you an Eagle ring when you received your Eagle award, and if so, whenever you wear that ring you carry the image of the Boy Scouts.
Most important, all of us carry the image of God wherever we go.
We represent God.
Sometimes we see the respect that people have for the things we
represent, and we assume that the job we have makes us important, and we get
“a big head.” You might be
elected to be Senior Patrol Leader in your Troop.
This is an important position, and it requires a lot of commitment and a
lot of work. But sometimes when
Scouts become SPL, they just want to feel important, rather than doing the work.
Sometimes Scouts get a “big head” simply because their Dad has an
important job, but if your Dad is important, that doesn’t mean a thing about
your importance.
Any time you represent someone else, it takes a lot of work, and the
respect that comes with it is secondary. Like
we said earlier, a lot of heads of corporations and high government officials
have gotten into big trouble, and sometimes have been sent to jail, because they
thought they were important, when it was really the people they served who were
important.
In the New Testament, Saint Paul gave this advice:
“Don’t do anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to
boast, but be humble toward one another, always considering others better than
yourselves. And look out for one
another’s interests, not just for your own.”
(Philippians 2:3-4, Good News Translation.)
Aesop expressed it this way in the moral to his fable: Fools take to themselves the respect that is given to their
office.
--meditation by Richard E. Davies.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.