A fence : A story with a great moral...
There once was a young boy with a very bad temper. The boy's father wanted to teach him a lesson, so he gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper he must hammer a nail into their wooden fence.
On the first day of this lesson, the little boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. He was really mad!
Over the course of the next few weeks, the little boy began to control his temper, so the number of nails that were hammered into the fence dramatically decreased.
It wasn't long before the little boy discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.
Then, the day finally came when the little boy didn't lose his temper even once, and he became so proud of himself, he couldn't wait to tell his father.
Pleased, his father suggested that he now pull out one nail for each day that he could hold his temper.
Several weeks went by and the day finally came when the young boy was able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.
Very gently, the father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence.
"You have done very well, my son," he smiled, "but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same."
The little boy listened carefully as his father continued to speak.
"When you say things in anger, they leave permanent scars just like these. And no matter how many times you say you're sorry, the wounds will still be there.
Be careful with YOUR words.
Beautiful moral..
ReplyDeleteThis is fantastic think I might do this with my son ty so much for sharing this x
DeleteA very good story nd learned a good moral lesson from this...hold ur temper..for wen anger explodes...words spoken cannot be taken bck anymore nd will leave a scar on someone...be careful wen angry.silence is better..
DeleteSo true you can't take back the hurt your words cause
DeleteWhat a wonderful story,and a brilliant moral to it. I wish I could do this with my son.But unfortunately he's a man now (age 20) and I'm ashamed to admit this,but if I were to show him,he would not listen. He really is a good lad as he has a job,his own house,but unfortunately an awful temper. I just hope he realises how hurtful his words are,and that saying sorry is wearing very thin. Sorry has become a word to him now,with no meaning at all.
DeleteShare this story with him. If it comes to mind when he loses his temper it could just be the catalyst he needs to not want to be that person.
DeleteThat is such a great story,we as parents need to do this more often, these kind of examplesare so great,thank you.
DeleteThere's a lot of things in life that hurt others. But the one thing with words, you can never take it back.......
ReplyDeleteagree.
DeleteBoys flying kites haul in their white winged birds,
Deleteyou cannot do this when flying your words ,
words unexpressed often fall back dead,but god himself cannot do this once they are said.
I love it and 'd love to controll my self in adversity. Thanks a lot, buddy :-)
ReplyDeleteSo inspirin......thnk u...i lovd it...
ReplyDeleteGood one for sure wish I would have learned this lesson earlier in life.
ReplyDeletevery inspiring story also wished I had of know this when raising my children....I'm a single mom, I came from an abusive broken home, and have learned that words do hurt, they scar
Deleteand they can never be taken back
Wish i knew this with my daughter growing up. So spiritual ��
Deletenever to late to start .
Deleteread this real good
ReplyDeletenice lesson...
ReplyDeleteGood lesson its hard to take back words and thoughts once they are spoken.
ReplyDeletereally inspiring and i learned a lesson from this... thank u
ReplyDeleteVery good lesson hope everyone learn from this...thank you
ReplyDeleteso inspiring, love it
ReplyDeletelove it.... i will always remember this
ReplyDeleteGreat story.
ReplyDeleteso what do we do never lose our temper and say thigs we shouldent
ReplyDeleteso never lose your temper or hurt with your words just bottle every thing up sounds like that boy would grow up with a lot of problems
Soo touching
ReplyDeleteI agree we should try & keep our anger in check but if you are angry because someone has hurt you with their words or actions bottling it up can blow up in your face at some point!!
ReplyDeleteThe Book of James
ReplyDeleteThis is a father that has deep insight on how to raise his son. If only we could have the wisdom that the father has. The boy will never forget the lesson he learned from his father.
ReplyDeletebeautiful
ReplyDeleteA beautiful story...very thought provoking....
ReplyDeleteI get what you all saying, but who,what and why got the boy this way???
ReplyDeleteSo true
ReplyDeleteI hv hurt so mamy pepl
ReplyDeletefamly frnz :(
WEll spoken. The moral is "think before we speak"
ReplyDeleteGood old story. Nice reminder.
ReplyDeletewhat about when you are repeatedly abused physically and all you can do is say things that you don't even mean but that's all you can do.
ReplyDeleteI empathise with you, have been locked into a relationship which included a bully of a stepson, everyone else was okay, he just made everyone else's life a misery, he in turn has kids and can't shake his ex off, well he could if he wanted too, this has gone on for 20 odd years,
DeleteI dont think this story is implying to hold all the anger inside but rather watch your words because once they are said they leave a lasting impression on us. We need to be careful with our words and mindful before speaking, or we will make the greatest speech that we regret.
ReplyDeleteThere is a world of difference between losing your temper and expressing justified anger in an appropriate way.
ReplyDeleteVery true, couldn't have put it better myself.
Deletebeautiful story ! soo true!!!!!! words said with anger really hurt.
ReplyDeleteperfect discipline.
ReplyDeleteIt would be wonderful if we could all hold our temper and never get angry, but even the bible talks of "the straw that broke the camel's back" and I am not religious, I learned that as a child. You can put up with huge amounts of nastiness for years, but one day something really insignificant will let all that bottled anger out, whether you want it to or not.
ReplyDeleteMost definitely!
ReplyDeleteLoved it, he did not beat the boy for the Anger, He showed him that he can be proud to be nice.Perfect discipline.
ReplyDeletehe was a very wise man as what he says is true people with bad temper hurt with there fist and word are some time more hurt full as they leave deep scares
ReplyDeletePerfect example of discipline vs. physical punishment.
ReplyDeleteMore parents need to take the time to teach discipline to their children rather than spanking/hitting/slapping them out of anger! Unfortunately, some parents are just too lazy to take the time.
I don't thnk people are just "lazy". Many are just lacking in positive personal experience. Please don't be judgemental. We are all human & therefore all fall short.
DeleteWish my fiance read this he has ways with wors specialy over weekends.
ReplyDeleteWA;LK AWAY NOW...
ReplyDeleteit pays to be silent in times of conflict esp. w/ a partner.. i've learned this long ago, and so my relationship w/ my husband, though not perfect, remains strong bec. i've entrusted every trouble to Him..it pays ti pray instead of arguments: silence= avoids further arguments: more talk, more mistakes; less talk, less mistakes; NO TALK; NO MISTAKES!!!
ReplyDeletewhen conflict bet. couples arise, sometimes losing one's temper is inevitable, but knowing that God is in control makes evrything in the right track.. i did it by God's sufficient GRACE!! thank God.
ReplyDeleteOnce you say something .....it cannot be Unsaid.....so think before you speak and try to speak the truth...or as close to the truth as possible..
ReplyDeleteso touching. x
ReplyDeleteSuch a fantastic story. An a great lesson!!!;;)
ReplyDeleteAhh!!it's really good
ReplyDeleteAmen
ReplyDeleteWhat is a little boy doing with a hammer and nails lol
ReplyDeleteIt's all well and good to judge each other on what we say and words can't be taken back. However we can and should learn to practice forgiveness or expect to live a lonely existence. And if you must judge others watch what they do! It is by our actions that we build our lives.
ReplyDeleteI wish i had that wisdom growing up my scars are very deep
ReplyDeleteSo true.
ReplyDeleteI try never to speak when angry. I do weigh my words against anything said to me in anger, but I always ask God to help me guard my tongue when I have been hurt by others words. I most always become silent and pray for better thoughts to enter my mind. The less said, the better we become in Gods' eyes ! It is not my place to judge anyone, That is best left to God !
ReplyDeleteAwesome way on how to describe the scars left in one's hearts if we don't measure our words
ReplyDeleteFor the last 9 years, I have kept this in my feeds on Facebook. It has brought me so much peace and is a reminder every year when I read it. Thank you for sharing it!
ReplyDelete