Here is the uncomfortable truth:
LYING, CHEATING AND STEALING CAN WORK.
If they never worked, people would stop doing them.
The real question is not whether they work.
The question is:
WHAT DO THEY COST YOU?
All of us come into this world innocent, unspoiled, curious and filled with wonder.
Then somewhere along the way, life begins introducing choices.
We learn there are many ways to get what we want.
Some require patience.
Some require work.
Some require honesty.
And some offer shortcuts.
That is where temptation enters.
A person takes one step to the left.
Then another.
Maybe they come back.
Maybe they don’t.
And sometimes a person travels so far down a certain road that what once bothered their conscience begins to feel normal.
That is how casualties of temptation are made.
LYING, CHEATING AND STEALING WORK
Think about that before rejecting it.
They work.
They must work at least some of the time, because otherwise people would not continue doing them.
A lie can get you out of trouble.
Cheating can give you an advantage.
Stealing can put something in your hand that you did not earn.
Fraud can make someone rich.
Manipulation can get someone promoted.
Deception can win a deal.
So yes…
THEY CAN WORK.
But what you usually don’t discover until afterward is the price.
And the price is often invisible.
When you deal in darkness, you begin paying with the currency of darkness.
And sooner or later…
THE BILL COMES DUE.
YOU HAVE BEEN ROBBED
The first person robbed may not be the person you lied to.
It may be YOU.
You got the money.
You got the advantage.
You escaped the consequence.
You won the argument.
You fooled somebody.
But something happened inside you.
Your innocence was compromised.
Your character took an injury.
Your peace of mind was disturbed.
You crossed a line that yesterday you said you would never cross.
Now that line has moved.
That is the danger.
The first dishonest act doesn’t only change the circumstances.
IT CHANGES THE PERSON DOING IT.
Once you begin operating under another set of rules, you enter another kind of world.
Trust becomes suspicious.
Relationships become transactions.
People use people.
Everyone begins watching everyone else.
Respect gets replaced by fear.
Loyalty becomes temporary.
And eventually you start expecting other people to treat you the same way you have learned to treat them.
You may have gained something material.
But what did you trade for it?
I HAVE EVERYTHING… AND THEN I HAVE NOTHING
We have all heard:
THERE IS NO REST FOR THE WICKED.
There is something worth considering in that old statement.
Look around.
We have seen people obtain tremendous wealth dishonestly.
Drug dealers.
Swindlers.
Thieves.
Con artists.
Corrupt businessmen.
People who took advantage of everyone around them.
Some built magnificent homes.
Some bought expensive cars.
Some threw enormous parties.
Some surrounded themselves with people.
From the outside, it looked like abundance.
But something was missing.
Peace.
Enough.
Contentment.
They had to keep spending.
Keep showing.
Keep acquiring.
Keep proving.
Almost as though they were trying to purchase back something they had lost during the bargain.
That is the paradox.
I HAVE EVERYTHING.
AND YET…
I HAVE NOTHING.
Because possession and satisfaction are not the same thing.
EARN YOUR WAY THE RIGHT WAY
There is another kind of wealth.
I know what it feels like to put in a full day’s work.
You handled what came your way.
You tried to be fair.
You tried to be truthful.
You tried to do what was right, just and good.
At the end of that day, you sit down to eat.
Maybe it is roast turkey.
Maybe it is rice and beans.
Doesn’t matter.
That meal tastes GOOD.
Why?
Because you are eating more than food.
You are eating the reward of a day honestly lived.
There is satisfaction in that.
Something deep inside you knows:
I EARNED THIS DAY.
Then you go to sleep.
And sleep itself becomes part of the reward.
Tomorrow you wake up…
AND DO IT AGAIN.
That may not sound glamorous.
But there is real wealth in being able to lay your head down without having to remember who you lied to, who you cheated, who you owe, who is coming after you, or which story you told to which person.
PEACE HAS VALUE.
A lot of value.
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE… AND YOU CAN TELL
I used to watch families in restaurants or walking around Disneyland.
Sometimes you could tell they had saved for weeks or months just to be there.
They weren’t buying everything.
They weren’t ordering the most expensive meal.
They weren’t purchasing every souvenir.
Maybe the children wanted something they couldn’t afford.
Maybe Mom and Dad had already figured out exactly what the family could spend.
But they were there.
And they were HAPPY TO BE THERE.
They appreciated it.
They enjoyed the sights.
They enjoyed the meal.
They enjoyed being together.
They had worked and saved for the experience.
That made the experience mean something.
I have often thought that the person who works hard for something may enjoy it more than the person who can obtain it without thinking twice.
Why?
Because sacrifice gives things value.
EFFORT ADDS FLAVOR.
Gratitude adds even more.
HONESTY IS STILL THE BEST POLICY
You can take shortcuts through life.
But eventually…
YOU TURN UP SHORT.
And don’t dismiss the little things.
The so-called little white lie.
Taking something small that doesn’t belong to you.
A pen.
Loose change.
Something from work because you figure nobody will notice.
Cheating someone out of a few dollars.
Those things may appear insignificant.
But the dollar value is not the real cost.
The real cost is what you are training yourself to become.
A little lie needs another lie to protect it.
Then another.
Eventually you become good at lying.
And that is not an accomplishment.
Take enough things that don’t belong to you and stealing begins to feel normal.
Cheat enough people and eventually you are not simply someone who cheated.
YOU HAVE BECOME A CHEAT.
That is the price people overlook.
You may put expensive clothes over it.
You may park a beautiful car in front of it.
You may build a mansion around it.
But character doesn’t care about the size of your bank account.
Character knows how you got there.
WHAT THEN?
Ten cents.
Ten dollars.
Ten million dollars.
Eventually we leave all of it here.
Nobody gets a moving truck behind the hearse.
Materially speaking, we all eventually leave poor.
Everything stays.
The house.
The cars.
The jewelry.
The bank accounts.
The possessions.
All of it.
So perhaps the greater question is not:
HOW MUCH DID YOU GET?
Maybe the better question is:
WHAT DID YOU BECOME WHILE GETTING IT?
Because a person who spends a lifetime acquiring good character possesses something money cannot purchase.
Honesty.
Integrity.
Trustworthiness.
Peace of mind.
Self-respect.
The knowledge that you earned what you have without having to steal another person’s portion.
That is another kind of prosperity.
And I believe it is the better kind.
FINAL THOUGHT
Lying can get you something.
Cheating can get you ahead.
Stealing can put something in your pocket.
But before you celebrate what you gained…
CHECK WHAT IT COST YOU.
Sometimes the most expensive things in life are the things we thought we got for free.
PEARLS INSIGHT
Dishonesty often survives because it can produce immediate rewards, while its deeper consequences arrive later. Repeated lying, cheating and stealing can erode trust, peace of mind, reputation, relationships and personal integrity. Long-term prosperity therefore depends on more than what a person acquires; it also depends on the character developed—or sacrificed—in the process.
PEARLS FROM THE BOOKS
Throughout Pearls for the Soul, one principle keeps returning:
What happens inside the person matters as much as what happens around the person.
A material victory obtained by sacrificing character can become a spiritual and emotional loss.
What you acquire matters.
HOW YOU ACQUIRE IT MATTERS MORE.
PEARLS CONNECTION
This Pearl connects directly with:
CREDIBILITY… THE CROWN JEWEL OF BELIEVABILITY
and
WHY WE NEED ETHICS, MORALS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS
Credibility is accumulated slowly and can be spent quickly.
Ethics is what protects us when the shortcut looks easier than the right road.
And character is what remains after the transaction is finished.
RICHIE SPEAKS
You fooled them.
You got away with it.
You made the money.
You won.
CONGRATULATIONS.
Now look in the mirror and ask:
WHAT DID IT COST ME TO WIN?
If the answer includes your integrity…
YOU PAID TOO MUCH.
May you prosper…
THE RIGHT WAY.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
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