Saturday, October 26, 2013

A KIND CROW

A KIND CROW


                     A crow was very sad that he had no friends. He met several birds and requested them to be his friends. But they sent him away, insulting him and saying that he lacked beauty and grace. He saw a dancing peacock and repeated his request. But the proud peacock laughed at him and sent him away. The peacock told him that he had no right to seek the friendship of the peacock who was the most beautiful bird and the most gifted dancer in the jungle.  He scornfully told the crow, "You are small and ugly with an offensive sound, clumsy movements and bad behaviour. You are a scavenger feeding on garbage and decaying flesh. How dare you come near me? He boastfully added, “Look at my elegant, elaborate, enormous, exquisite and exotic plumage, brilliant feathers and colourful tail. I am admired for my beauty and grace and excellent skills in dancing. Go away from me."                       
                     Another day, the sad crow was sitting alone on a tree. Suddenly he saw a hunter aiming his rifle at the peacock who was seated on another tree. As he was about to press the trigger, the crow dashed against the rifle and flew away to safety. Though the rifle was fired, the hunter lost his aim. The peacock was saved by the timely help of the kind crow. Later the peacock came to meet the crow and thanked him for saving his life. Hearing about this incident, all the birds and several animals accepted the crow as their intimate friend. He became their hero. They learned that a person’s merit cannot be judged by his appearance.
                     Like the poor crow in the story, everybody deserves to be recognized, respected and loved. Every person has his own value and should never be judged by his outward appearance. Prejudice, discrimination, racism and judgement by external appearances have plagued humanity for centuries. Such biased judgements do not reflect truth or reality. God does not show partiality or favouritism. St. Paul teaches, "God judges everyone by the same standard" {Romans 2:11}. God expects us to behave like Him.
                     We must use intelligent interpretations and just judgement to arrive at sensible conclusions and wise decisions.
                     St. Paul affirms, "So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free men, between men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus {Galatians 3: 28}."I solemnly call upon you to obey these instructions without showing any prejudice or favour to anyone in anything you do" {1 Timothy 5: 21}.
                     After the vision, St. Peter met Cornelius and declared publicly, "I now realize that it is true that God treats everyone on the same basis" {Acts 10: 34}. St. James {James 2: 1-4} exhorts the believers that they must never treat people in different ways according to their outward appearances. Appearances can be deceptive.
                     The Pharisees falsely judged Jesus by His humble and simple appearance and so failed to recognize His divinity and receive the gifts He offered {John 9: 16}.
                    "The Lord hates everyone who is arrogant; He will never let them escape punishment" {Proverbs 16: 5}. "Pride leads to destruction, and arrogance to downfall" {Proverbs 16: 18}. "No one is respected unless he is humble; arrogant people are on the way to ruin" {Proverbs 18: 12}.
                    "Happy are those who are humble; they will receive what God has promised" {Matthew 5: 5}. "For everyone who makes himself great will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be made great" {Luke 14: 11}.
                      Fred Smith said, "Humility is not denying the power you have. It is realizing that the power comes through you, not from you." Humility is a strange quality. The moment one thinks he has it, he loses it!
…………………………………………………………………………
© By: Prof. Dr. Babu Philip, Darsana Academy, Kottayam-686001, Kerala, India ( Former Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India), Prof. Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former Professor, St. Dominic's College, Kanjirappally,  Leo. S. John, St. Antony's Public School, Anakkal, Kanjirappally and Neil John, Maniparambil, Ooriyakunnath, Kunnumbhagom, Kanjirappally, Kottayam-686507, Kerala, India.
For more moral stories, parables and anecdotes for students, catechists, teachers and preachers, kindly visit our web-sites:
This is Story No. 290 in the second site. Please click ‘Older Posts’ at the bottom of a page to read previous stories and click 'Newer Posts' at the bottom of a page to read newer stories in these sites. Please click on a word in the 'Story Themes' to read stories on that theme.

No comments: