In a national spelling contest in America, an 11-year-old girl was asked to spell a certain word. But with her1voice, the judges were not sure whether she spelled the right word. They talked it over and2decided to simply ask her what she had said. By then, the girl knew she had misspelled the word. Instead of lying, she told the truth that she had said the3letter—so she lost the contest.
As the girl walked off the4, the entire audience stood, clapping to applaud her honesty. Later, dozens of newspaper reporters wrote about this5, even though it cost the girl the contest. But the fact is that she6the biggest contest that day: the contest of her character.
Probably the biggest test of our character and honesty is what we would do if we knew we would never get7. This young girl could easily have8and nobody would have known it but herself. But it's been said, "If you9, you make yourself cheap." This young girl was10enough to prize her own character more than the prize from a spelling contest. She knew the11she made in that moment will have a long-lasting influence in her future.
Should the wallet, found in the street, be put into a pocket or12to the policeman? Should the13change received at the store be forgotten or14? Nobody will know. But we have to live with ourselves, and it is always better to live with someone we15.
