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
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