For those who come to America from other countries, it sometimes isn’t easy to become a United States citizen. Bill and Tom were both excited to have the opportunity. Part of the process was to take an oral American History exam. Bill confided to Tom that he had studied hard, and knew American History well, but always choked up on tests and did very poorly.

“No problem,” said Tom. “Just do what I do. Write all the answers inside your T-shirt. If you forget something, you’ll find the answer just by looking down.”

Bill wanted to become a citizen so much. He thought this would be just the edge he needed. The day of the test arrived. The instructor asked Bill, “Who discovered America?”

Bill knew the answer, but his mind went blank. He thought for a moment, then put his head down. He looked back up at the examiner and confidently said, “Fruit of the Loom!”

There are always going to be people in this world who are looking for shortcuts. Some people want to reap the reward without putting in the labor. They seem to be able to outsmart everyone. They seem to get ahead of their parents, their teachers, and later in life their employer, business associates, and maybe even the government. It may even seem that through dishonesty, they have made great gains. How valuable are these gains when they are compared to the things they’ve lost, like respect, honor and integrity? It is God’s desire for us to prosper. If we trust Him, instead of trying to manipulate our own circumstances, we’ll always come out as a winner.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.