Putting others before yourself does not come naturally to us as human beings. We are naturally self-serving, and we need to be taught the value of cooperation sometimes through hard experience.

I recently taught my son about a summer camp experience when I was a child in which I and my fellow campers learned the value of the Golden Rule the hard way. In fact, because of our selfish desires, we put other campers at risk.

The summer camp I was attending when I was 12 years old had a bunch of competitions throughout the week. And although it was not my idea, I was a willing participant in what I am about to describe.

One of the kids in our cabin had the idea that if we were to put the other teams that are disadvantage, then we would win the events and feel really good about ourselves. We messed with the archery arrows, tied rocks to the canoes of the other campers. Nothing that was terribly immoral, or that put anyone in any serious danger, but they weren’t able to win the competitions obviously.

So we were in the lead, our list of illegitimate accomplishments stacking by the hour. After a day or so of this, the other campers caught on to what we were up to, and rather than report to the counselors what was going on, they decided to mess with our stuff. So now it was our team that was unable to win the competitions, and they were coming out on top.

A rather sordid state of affairs looking at it in hindsight, but such is life when children are learning the ways of the world.

On the third day, we had a navigation event where we were using crude maps and compasses to find certain landmarks. Whoever got to the landmarks and captured the most flags would win the competition. And this is where things went too far and put some of the other campers at serious risk.

The ringleader of our cabin decided to change the coordinates that were posted at one of the landmarks, so that the children following us would be going to the wrong way. We were sure to win with this set up. And win we did. And the other children, as predicted, got lost. After an hour or so of no sign of the other kids, the counselors got worried, rightfully so, and sent out search parties for the other kids.

Thankfully, they were all recovered and returned to the campsite without incident. But it was time for the head counselor to have a heart-to-heart with us. He taught us about the golden rule, and how by violating it, we ultimately put our fellow campers at risk. We would be much better off if we worked together, and collaborated rather than viewed each other as competition.

Thankfully, he had that talk with us, because that very night, there was a major thunderstorm that flooded the campsite. Now we were working together, setting up sandbags on the outer perimeter of the campsite, so our cabins and belongings were spared the worst of the flooding.

All was well, and we enjoyed the rest of the week without incident.

Now comes the time for me to come clean. That story didn’t actually happen, at least not in my own life. That was the story of the Tuttle Twins learning the golden rule, and I just read this story to my son Gabriel this past weekend.

The Tuttle Twins is a series of books which teach valuable life lessons that are intended for children about my sons age, in the 8 to 12 range. Gabriel has really enjoyed the books. They are entertaining, and they really teach great things such as economics, sound government, things he probably won’t be taught in his public school.

This week, in honor of Black Friday, the Tuttle Twins books are on sale for an astounding 75% off. When I heard about this promotion, I knew I had to become an affiliate and promote them myself. If you’re looking for a way to teach your children or grandchildren sound of principles of life, I highly recommend it. Here’s the link to take advantage of this promotion.

https://jnshub.com/tuttle-blackfriday