The Greedy Sons

There was once a hard-working and generous farmer who had several idle and
greedy sons. On his deathbed he told them that the would find his treasure
if they were to dig in a certain field. As soon as the old man was dead, the
sons hurried to the fields, which they dug up from one end to another, and
with increasing desperation and concentration when they did not find the
gold in the place indicated.

But they found no gold at all. Realizing that in his generosity their father
must have given his gold away during his lifetime, they abandoned their
search. Finally, it occurred to them that, since the land had been prepared
they might as well now sow a crop. They planted wheat, which produced an
abundant yield. They sold this crop and prospered that year.

After the harvest was in, the sons thought again about the bare possibility
that they might have missed the buried gold, so they again dug up the
fields, with the same result. After several years they became accustomed to
labor, and to the cycle of the seasons, something which they had not
understood before. Now they understood the reason for their father's method
of training them, and they became honest and contented farmers. Ultimately,
they found themselves possessed of sufficient wealth and no longer to wonder
about the hidden hoard.

*Reflection Questions*

The obvious message in this story are that we reap what we sow (quite
literally!) and that we don't always know what is best for ourselves... What
are two other lessons the story teaches?

Can you recall an experience from your past that you now realize you didn't
know what was best for yourself at the time the experience happened?

If there has been a time when you didn't know what was best for yourself,
who or what actually did know what was best for you?