Wednesday, September 10, 2014

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND!


In 1892, an 18-year-old orphan student at Stanford University was struggling to pay his fees. He & a friend decided to host a musical concert on campus to raise money for their education.

They reached out to the great pianist Ignacy J. Paderewski. His manager demanded a guaranteed fee of $2000 for the piano recital. A deal was struck.

The big day arrived. But unfortunately, they had not managed to sell enough tickets. The total collection was only $1600. Disappointed, they went to Paderewski & explained their plight. They gave him the entire $1600, plus a cheque for the balance $400. They promised to honor the cheque at the soonest possible. “No,” said Paderewski. “This is not acceptable.”

He tore up the cheque, returned the $1600 & told the two boys: “Here’s the $1600. Please deduct whatever expenses you have incurred. Keep the money you need for your fees. And just give me whatever is left”. The boys were surprised & thanked him profusely.

Paderewski later went on to become the Prime Minister of Poland. He was a great leader, but unfortunately when the World War began, Poland was ravaged. There were more than 1.5 million people starving in his country & no money to feed them. Paderewski did not know where to turn for help. He reached out to the US Food & Relief Administration for help.

The head there was a man called Herbert Hoover - who later went on to become the US President. Hoover agreed to help & quickly shipped tons of food grains to feed the starving Polish people. A calamity was averted.

Paderewski was relieved. He decided to go across to meet Hoover & personally thank him. When Paderewski began to thank Hoover for his noble gesture, Hoover quickly interrupted & said, “You shouldn’t be thanking me Mr. Prime Minister. You may not remember this, but several years ago, you helped two young students go through college. I was one of them.” (academictips.org)

Indeed, what goes around comes around!

Heb 13:16 (GNB): “Do not forget to do good and to help one another, because these are the sacrifices that please God.”

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