A Soulful Journey

A developer wanted to buy a farmer’s field to put up condominiums.   “What will you pay?” asked the farmer. The developer said, “We want to do the right thing.   We will pay you what the field is worth.” The farmer replied, “I’ll be darned if I’ll sell it for that!” Would this conversation ever take place if people acted with integrity?   Spoke the truth?   If not, perhaps we have a head-start on living the best life possible.

A wealthy business man sent his servant to Leipzig twice each year to purchase merchandise on credit. Each time the servant purchased new stock on credit, he paid up the old debt. One day the merchant devised a scheme to go into bankruptcy. “When you go to Leipzig this time,” he told the servant, “try to buy a lot of merchandise. You will not need any money because I’ve paid enough already.” The servant was not pleased. He said, “But the dealers will not want to sell without cash.” “Do as I tell you!” the merchant shouted. The servant, having no alternative, went to Leipzig and said, “My master has instructed me to purchase a lot of stock on credit. When I told him that I doubted whether you would trust him for so much money, he told me to hold my tongue.” The dealer immediately understood and did not give him any merchandise. Moral: We may feel at times that we are stuck but we can always find a way to be honest.

Integrity of word is an important ideal in life. When we are honest in dealing with other people two things immediately occur: 1. The other trusts us. There is no end to the good that can proceed from this. 2. We trust ourselves. When we speak wrongly we develop a negative self-image. There is no end to the bad that can come from this. In both instances, speaking earnestly fosters harmony. That is why the Talmud stresses this to us in gentle admonition, " One should not bargain about the price if he has no intention of buying it. " Baba Metsia 58b When integrity of word becomes our standard, our piece of the universe is harmonious.