This is a story we have heard often that has been used to show the importance of treating others with respect…which is an applicable message for your children as well as your people.
‘A few years ago I received an email –it was one of those forwarded emails which I deleted. But I still remember the contents. The email was about a father and son. One day the son came home and said ‘Dad I said something hurtful to someone today, but I apologised so it should be OK’. The father didn’t say anything but asked his son to follow him outside with some nails and a hammer. The father then asked the son to hammer a few nails into a tree, which the son did. The father then asked his son to remove the nails, which the young boy did. The father then said “Your harsh words are like nails in the tree. Your apology is like taking the nails out of the tree – the tree still has holes in it and maybe over time the tree will heal, but it will never be the same. Hurtful words can leave a scar like this one …what I learnt from that is how important it is to speak kindly to your friends and to other people you meet, even in the heat of the moment.’
