There once was a gentle boy called Samuel. He lied at the edge of the forest with his parents and two older brothers. Samuel’s family often treated him poorly because they did not know that he was capable of much greater things, until the day he met a strange old man. That day began as Samuel’s oldest brother went to cut wood. Their mother packed a nice, sweet cake and a bottle of cider for her oldest son to take into the woods. Samuel stayed home and chopped nuts. In the woods, Samuel’s brother came upon a little gray man. The man kindly bid him good day (Sacrament), and said, “Will you share your cake and cider with a tired old man? I am very thirsty.” Samuel’s brother yelled at the man. “If I give you my food and drink, I will not have enough for myself, now get out of my way,” he replied. The brother left the man standing there and went to chop a tree. After a few strong swings, his ax slipped and hit his arm. He suffered a deep cut, and could no longer continue his work. The little man saw all this happen, and he smiled as Samuel’s oldest brother hurried home to dress his wound. When a person is aware of themselves, and the World that they live in, accord with these conditions produces harmonious parts of being alive. When, however, one distorts some of the conditions of their being, one loses that very being in the process.

Games prevent honest, intimate, and open relationships between the players. Yet people play them because the games fill up time, provoke attention, reinforce early opinions (about self and others), and fulfill a sense of destiny. Disclosure of person to person, honest, direct, uncontrived, is the necessary condition for reducing the mystery that one man is for another. Sharing and being nice is a good virtue, when possible. At times, we are not able to share. For example, it is 20 April 2015, you father buys you a pizza, for your birthday, and tells you to bring it back home to share with him. A stranger, who is with a group of people, walks up and asks you for a slice. In that case, it is not your option to share. So you have to view each situation differently. In the case of Samuel, because his first brother was injured, they had to send another brother out to chop wood. Before long, the second brother also met up with the old man in the woods. The man kindly bid him a good day and said, “Would you share your cake and cider with a tired old man? I am very hungry and thirsty.” This next brother was as selfish as the first. “If I give you my food and drink, I will not have enough for myself. Now get out of my way!” The second brother walked away, and found a tree to chop. He swung so strongly with his ax; the head of the ax dropped off. It fell firmly on the brother’s foot, and he, too, could no longer work. Again, the little gray man smiled as he watched Samuel’s brother hobbling home.

Then young Samuel said, “Let me go cut the wood, Father.” “You know nothing about it, but if you are so willing to get hurt, then go!” his father replied. Sam’s mother handed him some cake and a warm jug of water and sent him on his way. When he reached the forest, Sam met the little gray man as well. Then man kindly bid him a good day and said, “Would you share some food and drink with a tired old man? I am very hungry and thirsty.” “I only have stale cake and warm water, but if you do not mind that, we can eat together.” They sat in the woods to eat. When Sam reached for their snacks, he found magnificent slice of sweet cake and a large bottle of cider for them to share.  When they finished their tasty mean, the old man told Samuel, “You shared your goods with me, and for that I am grateful. Now you will have good luck to go with your kind heart.” The little gray man pointed at an old tree nearby. “Cut it down and you will find something special there in its roots.” Then he walked away without another word. Samuel swiftly cut down the old tress, and when it fell, he found a goose sitting among the roots. This was no ordinary goose. Its feathers were made of gold! In the end, Samuel ended up marry a princess, not because of his newly found wealth, but because of his good heart. Therefore, as Hebrews 13.2 reports, “Forget not to show love unto strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”