This is pilfered from a personal writing by a Church member in Africa on Facebook.
Once upon a
time, parts of the body decided to hold a meeting, they didn't invite the
stomach. They were angry with the stomach as they accused him of laziness. At
the meeting, they all said how much work they had to do.
“We breathe in
oxygen and carbon dioxide out all the time and we are tired” said the noses.
“I think
everyday to make sure that the body will be functioning, to avoid foolishness
and I am fed up,” said the brain.
“We open to see
everything many times, dust and many other unpleasant particles in the air
affect us throughout the day’s activities, we are tired,” said the eyes.
“We suffer to
break hard bones to make sure that nothing affects the stomach, we are weak
now,” said the teeth.
“We stand, walk
and run all day and we are tired,” said the legs.
“We carry you (body)
all day long and we are tired,” said the buttocks.
“We have
listened for all of you to get all the information you need all the time and we
are tired,” said ears.
“I talk, eat
and drink all day and I am tired,” said the mouth.
Finally, they
all said, “stomach does nothing and he gets all the food, it is not fair. He
must work.” They all decided they were not going to work until stomach started
working.
The next day,
the nose refused to smell anything, breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon
dioxide. Brain didn't want to think of what to do. Hand did not cut and pick up
the food; eyes refused to open to see anywhere, mouth didn't want to open to
take in the food. Tongue didn't taste anything. The teeth did nothing because
they had no food to chew. They all did nothing.
After a day or
two, all of the parts of the body began to feel tired and ill. Arms and hands
were weak, eyes couldn't open, tongue and mouth were drying, ears could not
hear and legs couldn't carry them all. The whole parts of the body became
functionless.
This way, they
all learnt their lessons; they learnt that every part of the body has a part to
play to ensure there is function in the body. Stomach also has a job to do. It
takes in the food and makes every part strong and healthy for the whole body to
function well.
Remember that
the world is one, and all the people living on it owe the other one
responsibility for the other. Nobody can make it on his own; you need people
and other people need you. The good things you do, whether small or great,
affect a change in the universe. On the other hand, the evil of men create one
negative thing or the other in the universe.
Nobody is an
island to himself. This world is just like the story you have read concerning
the parts of the body. You cannot have pain in your finger without having the
feeling in the brain.
The little
service of love you render to our nation, churches, the dying souls, prisoners,
hospitals, the unemployed and many other less privileged people somewhere is a
function in the universe. When you help others to find solution to their
problems, you create an open door for yourself faster than you can do yourself.
A fascinating
study on the golden rule was conducted by Bernard Rimland, director of the
Research Institute for Child Behavior.
Rimland
discovered that the happiest people are those who help others. Each person
involved in the study was asked to list ten people he knows well and to label
them as happy or not happy. Then they were to go through the list again and
label each one as selfish or not, using the following definition of
selfishness: A stable tendency to devote one’s time and resources to one’s own
interests and welfare and willingness to inconvenience oneself for others.
He found that all
of those labeled happy were also labeled unselfish. He wrote that those whose
activities are devoted to bringing themselves happiness are far less likely to
be happy than those whose effort are devoted to making others happy. Rimland
concluded, “Do to others as you would want them do to you.” How true is it?
Napoleon Hill
said, “No man can help others without helping himself.”
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