If these two tests don't clarify a person's values, then that person is no longer a human being and has no conscience left.

HOW DOES OUR VALUE SYSTEM CHANGE?.

With constant exposure, what is intolerable becomes acceptable and translates into involvement.

And all through the transition process, justification keeps taking place.

157*TIMES ARE CHANGING

We talk of the younger generation. Where will they end? What about their value system?

Before we point a finger at them, let's evaluate who is to blame.

We ought to remember that values and virtues are not hereditary, they are learnt. We need to get our priorities right.

WHAT WE DO FOR A LIVING VERSUS WHAT WE DO WITH A LIVING.

Money is not the payoff for every kind of work. Parents bring up the children with no paycheck in mind. Many people have lots of money but they are very poor. Our objective ought to be both to have money and be rich.

When money talks it doesn't always talk sense and truth remains silent. The most unfortunate part of life is when people plan to get money without earning it. It is easier to make money and harder to keep it.

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.

--Helen Keller

Hard work teaches a person the value of money. That is why it is important that parents teach their children this lesson. I feel sorry for the younger generation who inherits money without value. Without lessons and guidance, they often equate everything with money. They think everything can be bought and sold. Of course this is not true. People who have values have no price tag and neither do they value themselves.

IT IS PRICELESS CHARACTER.

The movie Indecent Proposal brings out the point rather clearly. One act of adultery was worth a quick million dollars. People want to be an overnight success at the cost of their conscience and it still doesn't work. Because true values are priceless. The moment a price is set on values, the values lose their value. No possible gain can make up for that loss.

It is good to have money and the things it can buy, but in the process of acquiring money, we don't want to lose the things that money can't buy. Money can only buy what money can buy. And in fact, the most precious things are those that money just can't buy.

WHAT MONEY WON'T BUY.

The most precious things in life money just can't buy. It is not uncommon to hear that everyone has a price. People who talk that language are really up for sale themselves.

People with character, integrity and the right values are not for sale. Money will buy: ?.

Amus.e.m.e.nts but not happiness.

A bed but not sleep.

Books but not wisdom.

A clock but not more time.

Companions but not friends.

Finery but not beauty.

Food but not appet.i.te.

A house but not a home.

158*?

Medicine but not health.

A ring but not a marriage.

159*THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF TRAGEDIES IN LIFE

1. Not Getting What We Want

A CREED FOR THOSE WHO HAVE SUFFERED.

I asked G.o.d for strength, that I might achieve.

I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey . . .

I asked for health, that I might do greater things.

I was given infirmity, that I might do better things ...

I asked for riches, that I might be happy.

I was given poverty, that I might be wise ...

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men.

I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of G.o.d .. .

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life.

I was given life, that I might enjoy all things ...

I got nothing I asked for--but everything I had hoped for.

Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.

I, among all men, am most richly blessed!

--Anonymous

2. Getting What We Want

When our value system is not clear, getting what we want can be a bigger tragedy. The story of King Midas says it all.

THE MIDAS TOUCH.

We all know the story of the greedy king named Midas. He had a lot of gold and the more he had the more he wanted. He stored all the gold in his vaults and used to spend time every day counting it.

One day while he was counting a stranger came from nowhere and said he would grant him a wish. The king was delighted and said, "I would like everything I touch to turn to gold." The stranger asked the king, Are you sure?" The king replied, "Yes." So the stranger said, "Starting tomorrow morning with the sun rays you will get the golden touch."

The king thought he must be dreaming, this couldn't be true. But the next day when he woke up, he touched the bed, his clothes, and everything turned to gold. He looked out of the window and saw his daughter playing in the garden. He decided to give her a surprise and thought she would be happy. But before he went to the garden he decided to read a book. The moment he touched it, it turned into gold and he couldn't read it.

Then he sat to have breakfast and the moment he touched the fruit and the gla.s.s of water, they turned to gold. He was getting hungry and he said to himself, "I can't eat and 160*drink gold." Just about that time his daughter came running and he hugged her and she turned into a gold statue. There were no more smiles left.

The king bowed his head and started crying. The stranger who gave the wish came again and asked the king if he was happy with his golden touch. The king said he was the most miserable man. The stranger asked, "What would you rather have, your food and loving daughter or lumps of gold and her golden statue?" The king cried and asked for forgiveness. He said, "I will give up all my gold. Please give me my daughter back because without her I have lost everything worth having." The stranger said to the king, "You have become wiser than before" and he reversed the spell. He got his daughter back in his arms and the king learned a lesson that he never forget for the rest of his life.

What is the moral of the story?

1. Distorted values lead to tragedy.

2. Sometimes getting what you want may be a bigger tragedy than not getting what you want.

3. Unlike the game of soccer where players can be subst.i.tuted, the game of life allows no subst.i.tutions or replays. We may not get a second chance to reverse our tragedies, as the king did.

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED?.

About a hundred years ago, a man looked at the morning newspaper and to his surprise and horror, read his name in the obituary column. The newspapers had reported the death of the wrong person by mistake. His first response was shock. Am I here or there?

When he regained his composure, his second thought was to find out what people had said about him. The obituary read, "Dynamite King Dies." And also "He was the merchant of death." This man was the inventor of dynamite and when he read the words "merchant of death," he asked himself a question, "Is this how I am going to be remembered?" He got in touch with his feelings and decided that this was not the way he wanted to be remembered. From that day on, he started working toward peace. His name was Alfred n.o.bel and he is remembered today by the great n.o.bel Prize.

Just as Alfred n.o.bel got in touch with his feelings and redefined his values, we should step back and do the same.