Story of the day

                     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, complexion 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 and bad behavior  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 colorful 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 favoritism  God expects us to behave like Him. We must use intelligent interpretations and just judgement to arrive at sensible conclusions and wise decisions.

                     We must not treat people in different ways according to their outward appearances. Appearances can be deceptive.

The Holy Bible reminds us, "Pride leads to destruction, and arrogance to downfall. No one is respected unless he is humble; arrogant people are on the way to ruin.”

                     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!