Steven took his son into the apple Plantation during harvest season and as they were busy harvesting ripped apples, Steven’s attention was drawn to his son who was trying to harvest an unripe apple. He called out to him in a bid to stop him from doing what he was clamouring to do but as a child, he did not understand why his father was trying to stop him so he continued.
This made Steven rush over to where he was and practically dragged young Kelvin down from the ladder and instantly asked him this question; Kelvin why do you pluck an unripe apple when you can wait for it to ripe? Young Kelvin looked at his father in awe because he did not understand that the apple was not ripped. His father continued. My boy, in life you are going to be faced with lots of choices both good and bad which will either make or mar you.
This means that you must be ready to always make sure that every choice you will make will be for your good. Kelvin looked up at his father and said, “Let’s leave the apple ripe then”.
The circumstances we face in life and the choices we make have a way of affecting us. Let us look at Kelvin and the choices he made with their resultant effect.
Kelvin’s first choice
Looking at little Kelvin, you will understand that we as humans have been giving the power to choose what we want at every particular time. The problem we face most times is that just like Kelvin we end up making the wrong choice especially when we refuse to listen to advice even when it is freely giving. Let’s look at Kelvin his first choice and the implication. Kelvin was seriously going to pluck an unripe apple because he knew and understand that he was there for harvesting apples. What he did not know was that not all the apples were ripped but because his father called him to join in the harvesting, he assumed all the apples were ripe and ready for harvest.
This is seen in the life of so many of us in our world today. You will be allowed to do something and instantly you will forget that not every decision you will take in the cause of carrying out the task given to you will be good. Some will not bother to check and test whatever decision they want to take before taking it and once this happens, you have placed yourself in a situation where you won’t be able to change your choices. Can you imagine what would have been Kelvin’s reaction if he had plucked the unripe apple and tried eating it? He could have either thrown the apple away because it won’t be sweet and soft for him or his decision will make him hate apples because he will believe that all other apples from his father’s plantation are the same. This is the same thing that happens to you and me when we make the wrong choices in life. It affects us even far more than we can imagine.
Kelvin’s Second Choice
Looking at his first refusal to not pluck the apple when his father called him, you will understand that a lot of us go through the same process of refusing to listen to any advice that is against our intended choice. Most times we may not be as lucky as Kelvin who was practically dragged down from the ladder in other to stop him from plucking the unripe apple. Kelvin had the option to either listen to his father or continue with his choice of plucking an unripe apple, but he thankfully chose to listen to his father. How many times have you stood your ground on the choice you want to make even after been strongly advised? It is common knowledge that the human ego will always come in-between us, the choices we intend to make and any contrary advice we hear.
Just like Kelvin who was able to retrace his step when he noticed that his father meant well for him, most times we do not see the good in the pieces of advice we get from people as long as it is not in line with what we have in mind. This has led a lot of persons to do because they made a choice that later turned against them. The truth is that, whatever choice we make in life has its effects and whether it becomes positive or negative depending on our ability to make the right choice. You cannot be looking for a way to survive in life meanwhile you do not care about the things you do as regards wasteful spending, you will end up not achieving your dreams. Kelvin accepts that the choice he was about to make would have ruined him and the apple, he retraced and followed the advice he was given.
I ask you, would you listen to others when they give options that are contrary to that which you have in mind especially in a situation where their option is better or would you allow your ego by insisting? Today’s article is and should be a pointer for you to reflect on because no matter how or what we do in life, any bad choice we take must come back to hurt us whether we believe it or not. Always give room to weigh other people’s opinions and option when it comes to making choices. Remember that you must do that without throwing away your sense of discernment and reasoning. Why pluck an unripe apple when you could wait for it to ripe? A word is enough for anybody who cares to listen.
Please stay safe and remember to pray for INDIA and the wave of coronavirus that has bedevilled them. Stay safe, I love you all.
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You directed our thoughts to some important points. We should always be careful in each and every matter we confront.