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The psalmist says that God gives good gifts. There is an old Jewish story that tells of two beggars, people who beg for their food in order to live. Each day the beggars came to the king, and he would give them bread. One of them praised and thanked the king. The other did not. Instead he prayed, "Thank you, God, for blessing the king so that he can help others." The king said to that beggar, "It is I who give to you, and you thank someone else." The beggar replied, "If God did not bless you, you could not bless others."

So the king told the baker, "Make two loaves of bread and put a priceless pearl in one of them to give to the beggar who praises me. Make the other loaf nothing but bread." The baker was very careful to do so.

The next day the beggar with the loaf of bread with the pearl said, "Thank you, O king, most generous of men!" But he noticed the loaf was heavy and badly baked, so he said, "Trade me, my good friend." Wanting to be helpful, the other took the bread. He found the pearl and prayed, "Thank you, God. Now I do not have to beg from the king."

The king was surprised when the man no longer came to beg and asked the baker what had happened. The baker said he had done exactly what the king had asked. So the king asked the beggar, "What did you do with the loaf the baker gave you?" "Ah, the loaf was hard, so I traded it with my friend."

Now the king understood that blessings come from God, for only God can turn a poor man into a rich man and even change the king's plan.

Talk together: What is a blessing God gives you? (Young children will not understand the following "moral.") Some things are "hard" to do but have a "reward" within them.

Prayer: Dear God, we thank you for the blessings of life and water, sunshine and fire, clean air and love. Amen.