The trial of a horse thief

A note from Tim Wildmon: This month I want to share with you one of my favorite stories that my dad, the late Don Wildmon, founder of AFA, often told. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

A man in the Old West was being tried for stealing a horse. You need to remember, now, that stealing a horse in the Old West was a very grave and serious offense. A person could be hung if found guilty of such a deed.

It so happened that the man was accused of stealing a horse from another man, whom no one liked, in that town. The man whose horse had been stolen always made it a point to get the best of any person with whom he had any dealings. He never tried to do anything good for anyone other than himself. Consequently, the man whose horse had been stolen didn’t have a single friend in the entire town.

The case was tried and presented to the jury. The evidence against the accused man was pretty strong. After about 30 minutes of deliberation, the jury returned to the court chambers.

“Gentlemen of the jury, have you reached a verdict?” the judge asked.

The chairman of the jury stood up.

“Yes, we have, your honor,” he replied.

“What is your verdict?” inquired the judge.

There were a few moments of silence, and then the chairman spoke: “We find the defendant not guilty, if he will return the horse.”

After the judge had silenced the laughter in the courtroom, he admonished the jury.

“I cannot accept that verdict,” said the judge.

The jury went back into their room to deliberate toward another verdict.

Now, no member of the jury had any particular liking for the man whose horse had been stolen. At one time or another, he had gotten the best of each of them.

About an hour passed before the jury reached another verdict. They reentered the courtroom. They took their place in the jury box, and the courtroom grew silent.

“Gentlemen of the jury,” began the judge, “have you reached a verdict?”

The chairman of the jury stood up.

“Yes, we have, your honor,” he replied.

“What is your verdict?” asked the judge.

The courtroom was totally silent. You could have heard a pin drop. Everyone eagerly awaited the verdict. The chairman read the decision reached by the 12 good men, tried and true.

“We find the defendant not guilty, and he can keep the horse!”

The courtroom burst into laughter.

Well, I guess the moral of the story is this: It pays to be interested in people other than yourself. If you spend your life trying to take advantage of others, never caring about them in any way except what you can get from them or what they can do for you, you will end up a loser – like the man who lost his horse.

If you desire a friend, then you better be a friend. If you desire for other people to help you, then you better help other people. If you desire justice at the hands of others, then you better practice justice toward them.

Regardless of what you may think, the old biblical admonition is true: We do reap what we sow.