One sunny day in a town called Mayaimi, Mr Bard was going about his typical day. Mr Bard had recently come across the opportunity to have a promising musical career. So, Mr Bard spent his days sitting on the town corner playing his music, hoping that someone—anyone—would stop by and appreciate his music.
And, on this fateful sunny day, Mr Bard was in luck! Many, many people stopped to hear his music, and some even asked if they could come back to hear more! Mr Bard was overjoyed at his prospects and wanted to capitalize on the opportunities in front of him. But what would Mr Bard do? All he knew was music, and he didn't have any new song ideas. But aha! Suddenly he did have an idea.
See, Mr Bard had long been friends with one very special man: the Governor of Mayaimi. The two of them went all the way back to elementary school. Now, there was a very special day coming up in Mayaimi… in just a few days, Mayaimi was going to choose who would be elected for Town President.
Now, there were three people running for President: the Princess, the Sage, and Mr Bard's friend the Governor. Of course, Mr Bard wanted the Governor to win, but he had an idea. “Maybe, just maybe…” he thought. “Maybe I could use the election to help my music career!” It was a sneaky idea, but it just might work.
So election season came, and Mr Bard set up just outside the town hall and played his music. He played hard, he played loud, he played with all his heart, and it paid off! People we’re talking about Mr Bard and all his songs. “This is great!” Thought Mr Bard. “If I keep this up, my music will be famous in no time!”
So day after day Mr Bard played his music outside the town hall. But eventually, the crowds thinned out. See, Mr Bard was a kind soul, and he sang kind songs. He sang about the Governor and all his accomplishments. He sang about the Princess and all her beauty. He sang about the Sage and all her wisdom. But after a while, there was nothing left to sing about. “What am I going to do now?” asked Mr Bard. He needed to come up with an idea quickly, because the election was going to be over soon.
Mr Bard thought long and hard about what he was going to do. “If I keep singing happy songs, no one will want to listen anymore. I need something exciting, something that will get the people talking about my music. What if…” oh, the thought was devious, a little nefarious even, but it could work. “What if I sing songs that aren't happy?”
See, not everyone was as kind as Mr Bard. Some people were talking bad about the Governor, and the Princess, and the Sage. “What if I sing about all that nasty stuff? It's what the people want, right?” Mr Bard wasn't sure, but his time was running out. “Okay,” he told himself, “I'll do it. But I have to make sure that I never sing a lie.”
The next day, Mr Bard went to the Town Hall, and he stood out front, and he sang these new songs. He sang about the failures of the Governor. He sang about the secrets of the Princess. He sang about the folly of the Sage. But, in all his singing, he made sure never to sing a lie.
Now, Mr Bard’s friend, the Governor, heard him singing these new songs. “Oh that's funny that is!” The Governor yelled at Mr Bard. “Oh that's funny!” “You like it?” asked Mr Bard. “Like it? I think it's hilarious. And I think it's a great idea! Just watch out, don't let the Deputy hear you singing these songs or you might get into trouble!” “Oh, okay!” said Mr Bard. “I'll make sure not to get caught.”
So Mr Bard went on singing these not-so-happy songs. And the crowds kept getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger… and eventually it became too much for Mr Bard. See, Mr Bard was a kind soul, but he wasn't always the most wise. So when the crowds came, and he felt the thrill from performing his music, he forgot about the Governor's advice. Mr Bard kept playing his music. He played harder, and louder, and he poured his whole heart out every time he played. But, in all his singing, he still remembered to never sing a lie—and he was very proud of that fact.
One day though, as Mr Bard was playing his not-so-happy songs, the music drifted allllll the way to the Deputy’s office. Now, when the deputy heard this music he was enraged. “What is this! Mayaimi is no place for this kind of music! This music is disrespectful to our people and culture! This must be stopped!”
So the Deputy came to the town hall and he found the Bearded Man who worked in the town hall. And the Deputy took the Bearded Man aside and told him to get Mr Bard. So the Bearded Man yelled down the steps of the town hall, “Bard! Bard-e! The Deputy wants you!”
Now when Mr Bard heard this, his heart sank. “Oh no… no, no, oh no no no no…” His mind was spinning. “Was I really this careless? Oh! How could I let this happen!?” Nevertheless, Mr Bard collected himself.
He walked to the Deputy. “Hello Mr Deputy, how are you on this fine sunny day?” “I'm fine, thank you. I have some questions for you.” Mr Bard was still trying to get his head to stop spinning as the Deputy continued. “I hear you're playing not-so-nice songs, is that true?” Now Mr Bard was a kind soul, and promised to never tell a lie. “Yes, that was me.” Mr Bard replied confidently. “Well in that case” the Deputy continued, “I hereby place you under arrest.”
Now Mr Bard's head was really spinning. “Under arrest?? How could this be?” “I don't understand…” Mr Bard inquired softly. “What don't you understand? You have slandered the good Governor, and the Princess, and the Sage. For this, I put you under arrest.” “No,” Mr Bard contended, “you don't understand, I never slandered anyone! I only sang what I heard was true.” The Deputy responded. “You don't think this is slanderous? Singing about the failures of the Governor, and the secrets of the Princess, and the folly of the Sage? How would you feel if you heard someone singing about you this way?” “Well I'd be confused, but I wouldn't find this all arrest worthy.” The Deputy looked shocked. “Only confused? You wouldn't feel bad at all?” “Only if it was true” Mr Bard replied, with all sincerity. The Deputy was speechless, but nevertheless, he pronounced Mr Bard to be under arrest.
For five days Mr Bard was in jail. And during those five days, he had a lot of time to think—and pray. “Lord, I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I didn’t mean to spread rumors about the Governor or the Princess or the Sage; I didn’t want to make people angry at them. I just wanted people to hear my music. And I made sure never to tell a lie… so, I’ve done nothing wrong, right?”
But Mr Bard couldn’t shake the feeling that he had done something wrong. So, when he was out of jail, he went to the town Bishop. “Bishop,” he said timidly, “I need your help. I really tried to make sure I never told a lie, and I never did. I only ever wanted to grow my music, and it even worked for a little bit… but I still feel very guilty about everything that happened.” “Mr Bard.” The Bishop looked up from the Bible on his desk. “Are you familiar with the Sermon on the Mount?” “Umm, I think so,” replied Mr Bard.
“Well,” the Bishop went on, “in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explained that there are two ways of following God’s commandments. He said that there is the letter of the Law and there is the spirit of the Law. The letter of the Law tells us all the things that we can’t do, and it’s very exact. ‘You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor; you shall not covet.’ But see, when Jesus taught, He told us to also keep the spirit of the Law. Of course, the spirit of the Law had always existed, but it often was forgotten by people who wanted to think that they were more holy than they were. So Jesus reminded us that not only does God care about us keeping the strict commandments in the Bible, He also cares about our hearts. He doesn’t just want us to stop from doing bad things, but He wants us to do good things: to care about people, to put their needs above our own, and do all things to the glory of God.”
Mr Bard looked at him intently. “Mr Bard, I think you were too focused on keeping the letter of the Law, so you neglected the spirit of the Law. You wanted more people to hear your music, and that is perfectly fine, but you did it in a way that didn’t care about people, or put their needs above our own, or glorify God. So you may not have lied exactly, but God wants so much more from us than just technical obedience; God wants us to join Him in bringing good to the world, not just avoiding the bad.”
The Bishop’s words cut Mr Bard to the heart. “I should be bringing good to the world, not just avoiding the bad.” So Mr Bard went back into town and found the Governor, the Princess, and the Sage. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have put my own music goals above respecting you. I didn’t mean to hurt any of you, or spread rumors about you, but what I did was not what God wanted.” The Governor, the Princess, and the Sage forgave him, and reassured him that he did have a great musical gift.
So Mr Bard went back to the town corner and began playing his music again, but this time, instead of making sure to never tell a lie, he made sure to sing about the truth. So he sang about the accomplishments of the Governor, and the beauty of the Princess, and the wisdom of the Sage; but above all, Mr Bard sang about the glory of God, and made sure to dedicate all his work to Him.
The End.
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