When Being Good Means Giving Up

**When Being Good Means Giving Up** is the seventh episode of The VeggieTales Show, which teaches a lesson about the importance of being good.

## Summary

Larry is ready to give up on being "good" when an act of goodness makes him miss out on new collectible toy he really wants. Lunt tries and fails to solve Larry's problem with a new product, "Mr. Lunt's Robot Call," then Pa Grape steps in and tells a Western version of the parable of the Foolish Rich Man from Luke 12. In the end Bob and Larry learn that doing things God's way might lead to some bad days, but ultimately leads to the happy ending we all REALLY want.

## Characters

* Bob the Tomato
* Larry the Cucumber
* Junior Asparagus
* Archibald Asparagus
* Pa Grape
* Jimmy and Jerry Gourd
* Mr. Nezzer
* Mr. Lunt
* Jean-Claude Pea
* Petunia Rhubarb
* Jimmy Neutron
* Timmy Turner
* Wubbzy
* Dora
* Boots
* Backpack
* Map
* Swiper
* Fiesta Trio
* Benny
* Isa
* Tico
* Diego
* Phillipe Pea *(non-speaking role)*
* Madame Blueberry *(non-speaking role)*
* Bruce Onion *(non-speaking role; theme song only)*
* Dr. Flurry *(mentioned)*
* Baby Jaguar *(mentioned)*

## Songs

* The VeggieTales Show Theme Song
* Robot Love
* Backpack, Backpack
* Barn Fulla Grain
* Share With Me

## Fun Facts

### Trivia

* There were a few differences between pre-production and the final product:
	+ Jean-Claude was going to be called the Angel of Death.
		- Similarly, Jean-Claude was explicitly going to say Larry would die in the incident with the goat and the pasta-maker.
	+ At the end, Bob was going to say, "I just noticed that a goat chewed on the wires of your pasta-maker! If you’d used it, there could’ve been a terrible accident!"
* This is the first episode for a few things:
	+ The first episode to have Bob play a part in the main story.
	+ The first episode to have a unique twist on a Bible story.
	+ The first episode to not end with all the veggies saying goodbye.
	+ The first episode where both of the French Peas appear, but only Jean-Claude speaks.
	+ The first episode where Madame Blueberry does not speak.
	+ The first episode to not feature Stephanie Southerland as a credited voice actress.
	+ The first time Mr. Lunt's name is mentioned without the "Mr." part since the Boyz in the Sink album.
* This episode was released exactly 18 years after Jonah Sing-Along Songs and More! and 7 years after MacLarry and the Stinky Cheese Battle.
* From this episode onwards, Bob would say "Cue the theme song." before the theme song plays.

### Inside References

* This episode has some connections to King George and the Ducky:
	+ Larry, Bob, and Junior are the stars of the story as a rich protagonist, a servant, and a poor citizen, respectively.
	+ Larry has more than enough stuff and is selfish, especially to Junior, but when he redeems himself, he decides to give some to his neighbors.
	+ Larry sings about what he has and then what he learned about it.
	+ Both are bible stories but with a spin.
* Pa Grape mentions Larry growing out his hair so he can use his hairbrush.
* Archibald's opening melody in Robot Love is from King Darius Suite.
* The robots are the same ones from Veggies in Space: The Fennel Frontier.
* Mr. Lunt's line "I hope." and Pa Grape's line "Well, that was interesting." were both previously uttered by Archibald in Larry-Boy and the Rumor Weed and Lyle the Kindly Viking, respectively.
* The Okie-Dokie Corral sign is re-used from The Ballad of Little Joe.
* Larry's wealthy rancher costume is a modified version of his cowboy singer costume from It's Cool to Be Kind.