Healthy Living

---

Let The Truth Be Known!
© 2006
by

Stephen A. Peterson


Derek Western was a 16 year old who loved and enjoyed the taste of sunflower seeds. On any given day, he could be seen daily carrying a bag of the seeds everywhere he went throughout Seminole, Oklahoma. On March 11th, Derek went to the local movie theater to see the latest Angelina Joie movie. As the move played on, Derek became very thirsty. He went to the snack bar to purchase the largest soft drink available. When he reached the snack bar, the attendant, who was also the owner, left the snack bar to take an important telephone call. Upon the owner’s return, all was well except the bag of money near the cash register was gone. Gone too was Derek. The only item that could be found anywhere near the cash register was a single sunflower seed. Derek quickly rode away on his bicycle for home where he buried the bag.

The next day Derek’s mother asked: “Son, there’s a story in the newspaper that says the theater had it money bag stolen yesterday. The contents of the bag contained a little more than $5,000. The only evidence left behind was a single sunflower seed. Didn’t you go there yesterday, Derek?”

“No mom,” Derek said fearfully. He was ashamed he’d told a lie. But no one saw him neither take the bag nor see him bury it, so he thought. “If I never talk about it nobody will ever know. And if I wait for maybe a year or two when everyone forgets, then it’ll be mine!”

Several weeks went by. One day Derek’s mother was surveying the family’s acre to plant a garden. She had decided to plant a vegetable garden to save money. Suddenly she said, “Look at this bunch of wild sunflowers coming up right over there near that blackjack oak tree! Interesting!

“Hey, mom! Look at this!” said Derek’s 9 year old sister Marilyn. “There’s money growing on these flowers! WOW! Mom I thought you said that money doesn’t grow on trees or come out of stuff like flowers.”

This is a short story told teens recently in a group session. In this story, there is a BIG truth in it: A lie or cruel act that a person tried to hide has a way of coming to light in spite of attempts to bury it or minimize truth. Today, teens and even many adults believe truth to be relative. That is, there is no universal truth. We decide for ourselves on an individual basis what is true and what is not. Truth cannot be relative nor will truth ever be otherwise it is a lie.

Whenever we are tempted to say, “No one will ever know,” remind yourself daily or whenever truth or integrity become a struggle that---Some always knows!!!

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE