Short story: If he/she were your child, how would you treat him/her?

A man has a child. This child did something wrong. The father noticed what the child did wrong, but he did not say anything. He did not call the child to correct him/her. The child was not told directly or indirectly that he/she did something wrong. Another time, the child repeated the wrong. The father also noticed what was wrong but did not say anything. The child did it the third time. The father felt he has had enough. Instead of calling the child to correct him or her, the father waited until there was a gathering of the entire family. It was at that point, in the presence of everybody, he now mentioned what the child did. The father now went down memory lane and mentioned all the times the child did wrong. He embarrassed the child in front of everybody in the name of teaching the child a vital moral lesson. The child was shocked and dumbfounded by what he/she held. The child was surprised beyond words and he did not know what to say. At a point the child got some courage and attempted speaking on his own defense. The father quickly shut him down saying, ‘Shut up. You have nothing to say. What in the world can you say to defend those stupid actions you took? Shut up and sit down.’ Reluctantly, the child was forced to see down. He was seething in anger, but he had no means of expressing it.

The child reasoned within, ‘Everybody deserves to be heard. No matter how terrible or stupid the offense is, everyone deserves to be heard. I’m your own child for God sake! Why can’t you just hear me out? There was a reason for what I did. I knew what I was doing. Even if what I did was wrong, why did you not call me in private to correct me? Even if I did wrong, how would I know if no one corrects me? I’m not perfect just like everyone else. You, my father, are not perfect. You must have done wrong before and someone corrected you. That’s how you learnt to be a better individual. Why can’t you show me the same courtesy as you did to everyone else? Why, dad? Why? (Sobbing……..)

Lesson: Sometimes, at home, places of work, school, we see people doing something wrong. If the person lives, works or schools under you and you are in a position to correct that person, would you act like this father? Won’t you rather act differently and call the person’s attention to the wrong in private before bringing it to the attention of others if that is even necessary in the first place? There are times we may feel threatened to approach the person alone. Why not go with someone else to serve as a witness or to provide some level of security; you don’t need to blow a trumpet when there is no specific threat to you! Yes, there are times we may be overzealous in correcting others and get carried away by that euphoria. But, think about this, if you were the one that did wrong, how would you want others to treat you? Would you want them to show you some respect by bring the issue to you in private before announcing it to the world? Why not do the same for others. Remember, the golden rule, ‘Do to others what you would have them do to you.’