Trustworthy

I decided to start a blog to help process some of the thoughs going through my head. For my first entry, I'll share a Scoutmaster Minute that I gave to my Boy Scout Troop on Monday night. Some sad events at my church dealing with trust brought this story to mind, and I felt that I should share it with the boys.

Trustworthy; it is the first point of the scout law.

Let me tell you a story about someone who most of us would think of as trustworthy. This man used to be the pastor of a large church. Most people would think of a Pastor as a trustworthy man. He was about your age when this story took place.

Like many of you, Bill had the job of taking out the trash. In his house, the trash went out to the curb the night before trash day. Back then, people didn’t have these nice dumpsters with wheels, the trash was in metal trashcans, and he probably had to haul three or four of these to the curb each time.

Well the first trash day after Christmas is always a big trash day. There were lots of empty boxes, and wrapping paper. Bills dad had also asked him to take out the wreath from the front door. As it frequently is at that time of year in the north east, it was bitterly cold that night, and the ground was covered with snow and ice. Bill hauled out all of the trash, and had come back in the house. After he had removed his coat, hat and boots, his father asked about the wreath. Bill had forgotten the wreath. His dad told him to take the wreath to the curb.

Bill decided he would just put back on his boots, and run the whole way so he wouldn’t have to bundle up again. He stepped outside onto the front porch, and took down the wreath. He looked at that long trip to the curb, he was cold and tired. He looked next to the door, and saw the shrubs that were in front of his house. Bill decided that the wreath was “bio degradable”, so he tossed it behind the bushes, and went back into the house.

A couple of years later, his father noticed some holly bushes behind the shrubs growing in a circle. He asked Bill about them, and Bill came clean. He admitted to throwing the wreath back there. Well, his father dug out the holly bushes, and planted them in the yard. Every time the family moved, Bills dad moved those holly bushes too. By the time Bill was a man, those bushes were over 20 feet tall.

Bill had a long and successful career as a pastor. He is now retired, but I bet he still remembers the lesson he learned so well from those holly trees.

So scouts, remember that being trustworthy starts with little things like Christmas wreaths. You never know when your lack of trustworthiness in a little thing will grow into a 20 foot tall tree for all to see.