A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a new CEO. He called all the young executives in his company together. He said, “It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you.” The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. “I am going to give each one of you a seed today. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.”
One man, named Jim, received a seed. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Six months went by — still nothing in Jim’s pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing.
A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. It was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but Jim had to tell the truth. He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the beautiful variety of plants grown by the other executives. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!
When the CEO arrived, he greeted his young executives. Jim tried to hide in the back. When the CEO spotted Jim with his empty pot, he ordered him to the front. The CEO then asked him what had happened to his seed — Jim told him the story. The CEO said, “One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead. It was not possible for them to grow. All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he will be the new CEO!”
Be careful what you plant now — it will determine what you will reap later (Galatians 6:7). If you plant honesty, you will reap eternal life (Proverbs 12:19)!
Kyle Campbell