One morning, John went to a horse race.
He was intently observing the horses before the race started. He saw something strange – a priest approached one of the horses, laid his hand on its head for a few seconds, and walked away.
Then the race began! And he saw something strange – that horse ran swiftly and won the race.
John whispered to himself, “Hmmm the priest’s blessing is effective.”
Another race was about to begin. He saw again that the priest approached one of the horses, laid his hand on its head for a few seconds, and walked away. And that horse ran swiftly and won the race.
John whispered again to himself, “Hmmm the priest’s blessing is really effective.”
Then the third race was about to begin. He saw that the priest approached a strange-looking horse, laid his hand on its head for a few seconds, and walked away.
John knew what to do. He ran swiftly to the betting window, pulled out his wallet, and gave all the money he had to bet on that particular horse.
When the race began, he saw something strange – that horse was the last to go out. After a few strides, the horse started limping. After a few more strides, the horse fell to its knees. After that, the horse dropped dead.
John was shocked. He almost fainted.
He approached the priest and asked, “Father, what happened? Why did the horse die? Did you not bless it?”
The priest replied, “Yes, I blessed him. But that was the last sacrament – the anointing of the sick.”
Lesson 1: Do not bet on random chance, bet on right chances. Last October 14, two people won the P1.18B lotto jackpot, the biggest in lotto history in the country. That was huge! But I am not encouraging you to bet on lotto. In fact, I discourage it. A financial expert once said, “Your chance of winning the lottery is even less than your chance of getting hit by lightning twice on the same place.” So, instead of betting on a horse race or betting on a lottery, bet on consistent right actions – work hard on the right projects, save and invest regularly on right channels. Friend, bet on right chances.
Lesson 2: Do not bet on something without understanding it. Some people put their money on something they do not understand; as a result, they lose it. Some people proceed on projects without understanding the proper purpose; as a result, they do not persevere when times get tough. Some people do not take the time to learn about that they do, who they are, and what their values are; as a result, they get easily swayed by false and misleading arguments. Friend, understand what you are betting on.
Lesson 3: Do not bet on anything other than goodness. To bet is to risk something on the basis of the outcome of a future event. If we have to bet on something in this world, then let us bet on goodness. Let us bet on good works. To bet is to put faith on something. In times of success and struggle, let us keep our bet on the right One, let us keep our Faith in our Lord, our Savior, our Provider. Friend, that would be the best bet.
(Here’s another good thing you can ‘bet’ on to enhance your public speaking skills. Chris Dao-anis, CPA, DTM – a communication and leadership trainer, inspirational speaker, and author of 4 books – will be conducting a public speaking seminar [SPEAK 2.0] on December 8 in Baguio City. Participants of this seminar will receive a FREE copy of his latest book ‘SPEAK: How to Craft and Deliver a Speech or Presentation w/ competence & confidence’. Register now at bit.ly/SpeakBaguio or text your name and email address to 0945-761-6577.)
