Mark Twain Stole Watermelons (Sermon Illustration)
Honesty is the best policy.
In his book The 5 Levels of Leadership, John Maxwell quotes a story from the great American author, Mark Twain.
In a speech on the value of honesty, Mark Twain once told this story: “When I was a boy, I was walking along a street and happened to spy a cart full of watermelons. I was fond of watermelon, so I sneaked quietly on the cart and snitched one. Then I ran into a nearby alley and sank my teeth into the melon. No sooner had I done so, however, than a strange feeling came over me. Without a moment’s hesitation, I made my decision. I walked back to the cart, replaced the melon— and took a ripe one.”
Make no mistake, when Twain ate that forbidden watermelon, it was wrong, but at least he was honest about it and admitted his crime.
All joking aside, honesty is always the best choice, even when the truth looks worse than the lie.
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I can’t quite agree about honesty. Overwhelmingly, honesty is the right choice. Of course.
But it’s not quite an absolute. One example: A Nazi knocks on your door and asks: “Is Anne Franck here?” The only possible answer is “No.” Even if that’s a lie.
Thanks for the Twain story!
I’m quite sad to hear that you still have Nazis knocking on doors in your neighborhood. Honesty is an absolute; make it relative and soon you are being dishonest about what you ate for breakfast. Honesty is a part of your character – either you have it or you don’t. Keep working on it, sir.