No. 222 - THE MEAT OF THE COCONUT

No. 222

Jim Davidson...NEWSPAPER COLUMN

THE MEAT OF THE COCONUT

Back in 1965, when I first started my sales career, I made a call on a very prominent businessman in our states capital city. After a few moments of small talk on my part he leaned over and tapped me on the knee and said, Son, get to the meat of the coconut. Being as perceptive as I am, it did not take me long to figure out what he had in mind. He was very busy making money and did not want me to waste any of his time. This man is dead now but before he died his large company went bankrupt, at least that is what a friend told me. In view of this personal story I want to share something with you that a reader sent me the other day. Its titled, God wont ask and I hope you will really ponder what it says. It has to do with what is important in life and and what is not and it really and truly gets to the meat of the coconut. At least it did for me.

The article contains 20 points and it begins: 1. God wont ask what social class you were in. He will ask what kind of class you displayed. 2. God wont ask the square footage of your house. He will ask how many people you helped who didnt have a house. 3. God wont ask what kind of fancy car you drove. He will ask how many people you took to church who didnt have transportation. 4. God wont ask how many fancy clothes you had in your closet. He will ask how many of those clothes you gave away to the Salvation Army. 5. God wont ask how many material possessions you had. He will ask whether those material possessions dictated your life.

6. God wont ask what your highest salary was. He will ask if you trampled over any people to obtain that salary. 7. God wont ask how much overtime you worked. He will ask did you work overtime for your family. 8. God wont ask how many promotions you received. He will ask what you did to promote others. 9. God wont ask what your job title was. He will ask did you perform your job to the best of your ability. 10. God wont ask how many promotions you took to chase a dollar bill. He will ask how many promotions you refused to advance your familys quality of life.

11. God wont ask how many times you didnt run around on your spouse. He will ask how many times you did. 12. God wont ask how many degrees you had. He will ask how many people you thanked for helping you get those degrees. 13. God wont ask what your parents did to help you. He will ask what you did to help your parents. 14. God wont ask what you did to help yourself. He will ask what you did to help others. 15. God wont ask how many friends you had. He will ask how many people you were a friend to.

16. God wont ask what you did to protect your rights. He will ask what you did to protect the rights of others. 17. God wont ask what neighborhood you lived in. He will ask what other neighborhoods you visited. 18. God wont ask how many times you told the truth. He will ask how many times you told a lie. 19. God wont ask about the color of your skin. He will ask about the color of your heart. 20. God wont ask how many times your deeds matched your words. He will ask how many times they didnt.

My friend, you could say it in many different ways but what you have just read is really and truly the meat of the coconut. You know, all of us will stand before God someday..and everything we did, said, and thought will come to light. While its a very personal thing, in my case I have changed my priorities a lot in terms of what is important to me and what is not. In the final sweep of time for each of us I believe we should have the right answers. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Jim Davidson is a motivational speaker and syndicated columnist. You may contact him at 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)