MORAL STORIES

HARMFUL HABITS

The Eskimos catch polar bears in the ice-clad regions near the North Pole using a clever but cruel technique. They kill a sea lion and collect its blood in a wide vessel. Then, they place a knife in the vessel filled with the blood. Due to the low temperature, the blood will freeze quickly with the knife in the middle. The bowl is fixed to the ice in the outdoors. Polar bears have a craving for blood and have a very strong sense of smell. When a polar bear senses the smell of the blood, it will rush to lick the frozen blood. Soon its tongue becomes numb due to the intense cold and gets cut by the sharp knife.

Due to the numbness of the tongue, the polar bear does not realise that its tongue is cut and is oozing blood. It continues to lick the blood, even after the concealed knife has wounded its tongue and caused severe bleeding. It continues to enjoy the appetizing, hot and delicious drink without realising that it is drinking its own blood. This cuts its tongue deeper producing more intense bleeding. It continues to lick and drink its own blood till it faints due to heavy loss of blood from its body. Eskimo hunters then safely drag the bear away. Its meat is eaten. The skin and fur of the bear fetch a high price as they are used to make expensive winter clothing.

Persons attracted and addicted to bad habits resemble the trapped polar bear. Drinking alcohol, smoking, chewing pan, abuse of drugs, watching immoral pictures etc. are sinful pleasures that destroy our health, peace, purity, character and life leading to physical, mental and moral disease and death. Let us avoid all harmful habits.

St. Paul asks, “Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourselves but to God; He bought you for a price. So use your bodies for God’s glory” {1 Corinthians 6:19, 20}.

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

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