‘Practice what you preach’

Other Voices

IBy Ahmad Al-Sarraf

t is easy to keep advising others especially our children and subordinates especially those who are less fortunate than us.

Almost all of us need those around us to be sincere and honest in their words and actions; organized in their work, committed to their appointments; but how often do we practice what we preach? It is very easy to advise but difficult to practice.

Perhaps one of the most difficult things in life is to raise children and be a role model to them. For example we may ask our children that smoking is injurious to health, but how often do we give up this bad habit? We tell our children that we must never tell lies and be punctual but how many times have we proven that we are totally honest and have been punctual and adhered to our commitments?

Well-known comedian Charlie Chaplin said: ‘When I was a boy my father took me to a circus that came to our town. We were in a queue and in the same queue a couple with their six children was also waiting to buy tickets. Their tattered clothes, although clean, meant they were poor.

‘The children looked very happy and were waiting to enter the circus, discussing among themselves what they would soon see. The father asked the man at the counter how much it would cost him to buy tickets for the children.

After the man replied, the father put a hand in his pockets, pulled out some dollar bills, looked at his wife and nodded negatively. It meant he did not have sufficient money’.

Chaplin continued saying: ‘At this point, my father took a $20 bill from his pocket and dropped it on the ground, tapped the man in front on his shoulder and told him he had dropped the money’. ‘The man looked straight into my father’s eyes and said, “Thank you sir,” his eyes filled with tears. He then bent down and picked the money from the ground. He had to do this because he did not want the man to feel embarrassed in front of his children and not deprive them the pleasure of life they have been waiting for such a long time.’

Once the family entered the circus tent, my father left the place and we did not buy the tickets for ourselves. Since that day I have been proud of my father for what he had done. It was the most wonderful circus that had ever come to town, although I did not see it.

We congratulate preacher Tarek Suwaidan because his son is a member of the Canadian and American Board of Psychiatry. We also congratulate preacher Salman Al-Ouda whose son got a Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh in the United States, we also ‘congratulate’ the sons of other preachers who have embraced jihad.

Al-Sarraf

email: habibi.enta1@gmail.com