The Good You Do Will Speak for You

The Good You Do Will Speak for YouBY ✍️ SAUBAN BOLAJI MAHMUD Being good is one of the best ways an individual can live a better life and have a better ending. Creating opportunities, uplifting others, and showing love are among the sacred steps to keep living even when one is no longer in this world. Whether you believe or not that there is a place where you will eventually stay or meet yourself after death, try your possible best to be good to people. I will share a didactic story in this insight to illustrate and substantiate my point. In ancient times, there was a popular and wealthy king in a village . He was endowed with many slaves, armies, gold, and wives. His popularity and dynasty spread throughout his state and beyond. Despite all his wealth and blessings, the king was very humble and compassionate. However, his three chief ministers did not like him because of his excessive kindness toward the people. He constantly gave to the poor, fed the hungry, supported the needy, and never neglected beggars who came to him for help. His ministers advised him countless times to stop spending so much of his wealth on the people, giving him several reasons why he should do so. However, the king ignored their advice. This gradually created resentment and enmity between the ministers and the king. The king noticed their attitude but kept it to himself. He never stopped doing good, nor did he stop supporting his three chief ministers. One day, the king ordered his soldiers to call the three chief ministers to the palace for an impromptu meeting. They came as usual and sat on their respective honoured chairs in the palace. The king welcomed them and told them that he had a task for them to execute. He then said, “I want you all to go to the farm to cultivate some apples before noon.” They were surprised by the king's command, but they had no choice but to obey. As they made their way to the farm, they began to have different thoughts about the unusual task. One of them said, “Mayhaps the king wants to see whether we will refuse, but this is disrespectful.” Another said, “Why would he send us on such an irrational errand? There are more than enough slaves and servants in the palace who could have been sent to do this.” The third minister said, “Maybe he wants to test our loyalty.” They were all confused, but the king's order had to be followed. They took their sacks and went to the farm. When they reached the farm , the first minister said to himself, “The king is very selfish and has disrespected me. For that reason, he does not deserve anything good from me.” He then filled his sack with dirty leaves and placed a few apples on top to deceive the king. The second minister did exactly the same thing. He said to himself, “The king will not eat these apples. He will only give them to people as he always does. Why should I stress myself for the sake of other people?” Surprisingly, the third minister was different from the others. He carefully ploughed the apples and filled his sack with fresh and nice apples. He also said to himself, “The king deserves good things from us in return for all he has done for us and for the people.” After completing the task, they returned to the king's palace. Immediately they arrived, the king ordered his soldiers to lock the three ministers up together with their sacks for one month without food, water, or refreshments. They were shocked and could not believe what was happening. They shouted, begged, and appealed to the king, but he refused to release them. Day after day, they survived only on whatever they had put inside their sacks. The two ministers who had attempted to deceive the king soon discovered the consequences of their actions. Their sacks contained mostly leaves and only a few apples. They eventually died before the end of the 1 month period because they did not have enough food to survive. The third minister however, survived because his sack was filled with fresh apples. Even after his release, he still had some apples remaining. On the day of his release, the surviving minister was taken before the king. The king first apologised for what he had done to them and then rewarded the minister immensely. He finally explained the reason behind the entire experience. He said ;The farm where you went to cultivate the apples is like life. The prison in which you were locked up is like the grave. Whatever you put into your life is what you will eventually reap from it. Therefore, do good while you are alive, because your deeds will follow you beyond this life. The story reminds us that the good we do for others is never truly wasted. The opportunities we create, the people we uplift, the love we show, and the kindness we extend may one day become what sustains us. The best way to live a meaningful life and hope for a good ending is to make goodness a part of who we are. Do good, not only because people are watching, but because goodness is an investment whose reward may outlive you.

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