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Rewards in Full

Album: 24: Risks and Rewards

Episode: 312

Lesson/Theme: Having pure motives.

Bible Verse: Matthew 6:1

Characters: Bart, Connie

Writer: Phil Lollar

Sound Designer: Mark Drury

Original Air Date: April 29, 1995

Last Air Date: March 31, 2009

Description:
Jack has started a new social program around town called “Food for the Hungry.” He’s made a poster for advertising and is just leaving to get it copied when Bart Rathbone enters. Connie explains the program to Bart. After some persuading, Bart agrees to put up a poster in the corner of one of his store windows. That afternoon, Jack encourages Erica to begin a poster campaign of her own about bicycle helmet safety. A few days later, though, Bart ends up taking credit for Jack’s idea when he discovers that the program is good for his business, and Erica’s friend Brenda winds up getting praised in front of the whole school for Erica’s bicycle helmet safety posters. Erica storms into Whit’s End, fuming. She tells Jack what happened, but Jack has trouble understanding why she is so upset. After all, the point of Erica’s campaign is to help keep kids from getting hurt. He says, as long as she is helping kids, what does it matter if she doesn’t get credit? Just then, Connie enters. She tells Jack that Bart is hogging all the credit for the “Food for the Hungry” program. Erica believes that Jack will finally understand how she feels now, but Jack still doesn’t see the problem. As he puts it, he didn’t start the program to get credit. He started it to gather food for the hungry. And since Bart is helping the hungry, why should Jack be upset if the program is working? A few moments later, Bart makes a fool out of himself on television by revealing that he knows next to nothing about “Food for the Hungry.” Then Brenda comes and apologizes to Erica for taking credit she didn’t deserve. All is well in Odyssey again.

Questions:
Why didn’t Bart want to have anything to do with the “Food for the Hungry” program at first? What changed his mind? What should Erica have done to keep the principal from making the mistake he did? Have you ever done work someone else took credit for? What did you do about it? Have you ever taken credit for someone else’s work? Why is that wrong?