MORAL STORIES

A SINKING SHIP

A ship was sailing towards a port carrying a large number of passengers. The shore could be seen in the distant horizon and all on board were gladly getting ready for the end of the journey. Suddenly the ship struck against a rock and broke its hull. Water rushed into the ship and it was sinking fast. Everyone tried to escape, abandoning their baggage. Some boarded life-boats, others jumped into the sea to swim ashore.

But one of the passengers was busily engaged in stealing valuable materials from the luggage of the passengers. He broke open the bags, trunks and suitcases in the sinking ship and collected all the jewellery and gold coins in a cloth bag and tied the bag safely to his waist. Then he jumped into the sea and tried to swim ashore. But the weight of the stolen jewellery made him sink. He tried his best to swim as he was an expert swimmer. But the heavy load dragged him down into the deep sea. No one could save him.

“Robbery always claims the life of the robber” {Proverbs 1: 19}. “It is better to have a little, honestly earned, than to have a large income gained dishonestly {Proverbs 16:8}.

Jesus said, “No one can be a slave of two masters; he will hate one and love the other; he will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” {Matthew 6: 24, Luke 16: 13}.

“Watch out and guard yourselves from every kind of greed; because a person’s true life is not made up of the things he owns, no matter how rich he may be” {Luke 12: 15}.

“Will a person gain anything if he wins the whole world but loses his life” {Matthew 16: 26}.

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© By: Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India.

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