Timothy saw that his mother took a large sum of money from her neighbor to keep it until her return from her journey. He asked her, “Why did you take the money? Don’t you fear that a thief would steal it?”

“No Timo. I’ll save it in the bank so that my neighbor would get the profit.”

“She didn’t ask you to do that!”

“Yes, but being honest requires that I do my best to let her benefit.”

“What do you mean by Honesty?”

“The true person imitates Jesus Christ the Honest. His honesty is not only in fulfilling His promises but also in love presenting everything to His beloved ones. I’ll tell you a story from the Jewish tradition. It’s about a Jewish pious man who tried to imitate God in His honesty:

It was said that some Jewish men asked a rabbi to keep for them two containers of barley till their return. They went on their journey and had not returned for seven years. When they returned one of them asked, “Do you remember that we left two containers of barley to the rabbi to keep?”

“Yes, but we had been absent for seven years. Even if he’d put them in his stores, they should have been spoilt.”

“Let’s see.”

As they went to the rabbi he welcomed them and led them to his stores to take their barley. They were surprised to find him pointing at a large amount of barley saying, “This is what you left.”

“We only left two containers.”

“Yes but I sowed them and planted them for your sake for the past seven years.”

→ English translation of the story here at St-Takla.org: كيلتان من الشعير.

Lord, grant me the spirit of honesty.

Let me imitate You O Wonderful in Your honesty.

You are Honest in Your love and promises.

You are Honest in what You always do for me.

Let me be an icon of You.

I am not asking for a reward for my honesty.

It is enough for me to imitate You O Honest Lord.

Who is the True Son?

Short Stories (Stories for the Youth) Books by Father Tadros Yacoub Malaty

I Didn’t Buy the Pearl