Once in a city lived a religious scholar. Most time of his day would pass studying and praying.
His daily routine was to wake up before dawn and then get ready to pray and would study for hours. In evening he would do minimal financial dealings, just enough to earn him basic needs and again study till late at night.
His neighbor was a laborer, who would also wake up early in morning and get off to his work. He would struggle to earn his bare living because of which he wouldn’t get time to study scripture or get much time to pray.
Whenever two neighbors would pass each other in yard, scholar would throw the crass materialist a look of contempt toward his neighbor and then hurry on to his pursuits.
Where as
Poor laborer would sigh and think to himself, “How unfortunate of me.. We both wake up early but scholar study for hours while i am off to mundane burdens of daily life, not able to get time even pray properly..”
Time pass and two men concluded their earth’s journey and their soul’s stood before heavenly court where the life of every man is weighed upon the balance scales of divine judgment.
It was scholar turn, an advocate angel placed scholar’s many virtues on side of scale which included his many hours of scripture studies, prayers, his frugality and honesty.
But then came prosecuting angel, who placed a single object on the other side of the scales – the look of contempt that the scholar would occasionally send his neighbor’s way.
Slowly, the left side of the scales began to dip until it equaled and then exceeded, the formidable load on the right.
Now it was poor laborer turn, his prosecuting angel loaded his miserable, spiritually void life on the left scales.
Then advocating angel had but one weight to offer—the sorrowful, covetous sigh the laborer would emit when he encountered his learned neighbor.
But when placed on the right side of the scales, the sigh counter weighted everything on the negative side, lifting and validating every moment of hardship and misery in the laborer’s life.
Deep Meaning: Regardless of how much scholar learned, it didn’t refine him enough to see the good in his laboring neighbor and yet despite the neighbor’s spiritual lack, his sigh expressing his deep desire to live a life of a scholar surpassed that.
Moral:
One should not get Arrogant and look down on Others.
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Keywords: Short Stories With Moral Values – Never Look Down on Others Lesson, Arrogance vs Humility Story with Valuable Life Lesson
