Ungrateful Beggars
Story★★★★According to Our Daily Bread, when King Alfonso XII of Spain learned that the attendants of his court were neglecting to pray before eating, he determined to teach them a lesson. A huge banquet was prepared, and all the king’s guests plowed in, none of them pausing to give thanks to God. But by pre-arrangement, a filthy beggar wandered into the banquet hall, seated himself at the head table, and chowed down.
The guests waited for the guards to seize the man, but, to their amazement, he continued gobbling up the food without hindrance. Then the beggar wiped his mouth, rose and stalked out without a word.
Someone near the king said, “What a despicable fellow! He didn’t even say ‘thank you.’ “ Rising, King Alfonso said to them all: “Do you realize that you’ve been bolder and more ungrateful than that beggar? Every day you sit down at a table abundantly supplied by your Heavenly Father, yet you neither ask His blessing nor express your gratitude!” It was a lesson none of them ever forgot.
The point
King Alfonso XII teaches his ungrateful court a lesson by having a beggar demonstrate ingratitude so clearly that they recognize their own failure to thank their Heavenly Father.