The Seed

A successful Christian businessman was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over his business.  Instead of choosing one of his directors or his children, he decided to do something different.
He called all the young Executives in his company together.  He said:  “It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO.  I have decided to choose one of you.” The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued:  “I am going to give each one of you a SEED today—a very special SEED!  I want you to plant the SEED, water it, take care of it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the SEED I have given you.  I will then judge the plants you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO”.
One man, Wayne was there that day and he, like the others, received the SEED.  Wayne went home and excitedly told his wife the story.  She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the SEED.  Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown.  After about three weeks some of the other executives began to talk about their SEEDS and the plants that were beginning to grow.  Wayne kept checking his SEED, but nothing ever grew!
Three weeks turned into four, five, then months!  Nothing!  By now, others were talking about their plants, but Wayne didn’t have a plant!  He felt like such a failure.  Six months went by….still nothing in Wayne’s pot.  He just knew he had killed his SEED.  Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing.  Wayne didn’t say anything to his colleagues, however.  He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil.  He so wanted the SEED to grow.
A year went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection.  Wayne told his wife that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot.  She asked him to be honest about what happened.  Wayne felt sick at his stomach.  It was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right.  He took his empty pot to the boardroom the next day.
When Wayne arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants all grown by the other executives.  They were so beautiful…in all shapes and sizes.  He put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed and some even felt a little sorry for him.
When the CEO of the company arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives.  Wayne just tried to hide in the back. “What a great bunch of plants, trees and flowers you have all grown”,  said the CEO.  “Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!” All of a sudden, the boss spotted Wayne at the back of the room with his empty pot.  He ordered one of his directors to bring Wayne to the front.  Wayne was terrified as he thought:  The CEO now knows I am a failure!  I may even lose my job over this!
When he got to the front with his pot full of damp earth, the CEO asked him what had happened to his SEED.  Wayne told his story of failure.  The boss asked everyone to have a seat except Wayne.  He looked at Wayne and then announced to the room, “Behold your next Chief Executive!  His name:  Wayne!” Wayne couldn’t believe it….he was shocked, since he couldn’t even grow his own SEED!  How could he be the new CEO?
Then the boss explained:  “One year ago today I gave everyone in this room a SEED.  I told you to take the SEED, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today.  But what I didn’t tell you is I gave you all “boiled” SEED’s—they were dead—it was not possible for them to grow at all.
All of you, except for your new CEO, have brought me trees, plants and flowers.  When you found the SEED would not grow, you substituted another SEED for the one I gave you.  Wayne was the only one with the honesty and courage to bring me a pot with my SEED in it!  Therefore, he is the one who will be your new Chief Executive Officer of this company!

The Moral of the Story:
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 CONTENTMENT
If you plant CONSIDERATION:  you will reap PERSPECTIVE
If you plant HARD WORK:          you will reap SUCCESS
If you plant FORGIVENESS:       you will reap RECONCILIATION
If you plant FAITH IN CHRIST:  you will reap a HARVEST

So, be careful what you plant, it will determine what you will Reap later!


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