THE RIGHT WAY TO ASK
A new
teacher comes to a village and meets with the students. He asks them, “Who in this town is wealthy? Who are your benefactors?”
They tell him of this one and the others and add, “There’s one very wealthy man outside of town, but he’s a miser. He wouldn’t help us; he never gives charity. That man will never
part with his money.”
“Let’s meet with this miser,” says the teacher.
The students resist. “It’s too far.
He’ll never help us. He’s not a generous man.”
The teacher insists, and off they go on their journey.
When they
finally arrive, the teacher says,”I don’t think we should bother the wealthy man and ask him for money. Let’s turn back.”
The students are appalled. “After we came all this way, we should give up without even trying? No way!” they vehemently protest.
“Ah ha!” The teacher responds with a knowing smile.
“By telling me we should go ahead and ask the man for the money because ‘we came such a long way,’ tells me that your
reluctance to ask is because of your own inconvenience to make such a long trip, rather than the man’s miserly way.”
He continues. “Now that we’re here, and we all know you are not afraid to ask the man for a donation, you can confidently offer the man an opportunity to further your education with a generous
donation that will benefit not only you and your classmates but the future generations and this entire region in the long term.”
The students do just that. They have a new understanding that when you offer someone an opportunity to do good for society, the petitioner’s discomfort doesn’t matter.
Lo and behold, the “miser” gives generously, and all feel the benefit.
