Upon graduation from college a few years back, a young man received a gift from his older brother. It was a shiny new car, the car of his dreams! One morning as he approached the car, he saw a boy of about 12 peering through the windows into the car. The young man recognized him as the boy his parents paid to mow their lawn. Obviously enthralled with the car, the boy hadn’t heard the young man approaching. “Is this your car?” the boy asked when he finally noticed the man.

“Yes, it is,” the man responded proudly.

“Wow! This is a nice car!” remarked the boy. “How much did it cost?”

“I don’t know,” the man answered.

“It’s your car, but you don’t know how much it cost?”

“No,” admitted the man. “It was a gift from my brother.”

“I wish …I wish…I wish…” stuttered the boy. The man thought he was going to say, I wish I had a car like this. “I wish I was a brother like your brother!” finished the boy. Amazed at the boy’s response, the young man offered to drive him around the block. The boy hopped in the car and soon asked if the man would drive him home. Thinking that the boy wanted to show off to his friends that he was riding in a new car, and since the boy and his own parents were such good friends, the man agreed.

They drove more than a few blocks to where the boy lived and as he turned onto the street the man noticed that it wasn’t the best-kept neighborhood. He pulled up in front of the boy’s house. “Please wait!” the boy yelled as he ran into the house. 

The front door opened and out came the boy. In his arms he carried a smaller boy, his younger brother who had been crippled since birth. The older boy brought his brother out to the car, and exclaimed as he hugged him tightly, “See, just like I told you! It’s a brand-new car! And someday, I’m going to buy you one just like it!”

How unselfish this boy was, to be the kind of brother who looked after others before thinking about himself. What kind of Scouts are we? Are we like the older brother?

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Actor and martial arts expert Chuck Norris knows that might does not always mean right. He explains:
Not long ago, after a day of filming my television series, I went alone to a small Texas cafe. As I sat in a corner booth, a large man towered over me and said with an edge to his voice that I was sitting in his booth. I didn’t like his tone or his implicit threat, but I said nothing and moved to another booth. A few minutes later, though, the big fellow was headed back in my direction. Here he comes, I thought, a local tough out to make a name for himself by taking on Chuck Norris in a fight. When he arrived at my new booth, he looked directly at me.

“You’re Chuck Norris,” he said. I nodded.
“You could have whipped me good back there a few minutes ago,” he said. “Why didn’t you?”
“What would it have proved?” I asked. He thought that over for a moment and then offered me his hand. “No hard feelings?” he said.
“None,” I said, and shook his hand. I had avoided a confrontation and made a friend. I had won by losing.

The confidence and contentment we feel regarding our own capabilities shouldn’t depend on showing them off. Just because we have a skill, doesn’t mean we have to prove it to others, and it’s often preferable not to.