Xun Zi 荀子, a Confucian philosopher, was born in 313 B.C. Countering the view of Mencius 孟子, another Confucian philosopher, that man is born good, Xun Zi taught that human nature is evil and men need education to bring them back to the path of righteousness. He left us 20 essays, the first of which exhorts men to learn 【勸學】. In this essay, I found the Zacchaeus of Luke. Let me quote it.
吾嘗終日而思矣，不如須臾之所學也。吾嘗跂而望矣，不如登高之博見也。登高而招，臂非加長也，而見者遠；順風而呼，聲非加疾也，而聞者彰。假輿馬者，非利足也，而致千里；假舟檝者，非能水也，而絕江河。君子生非異也，善假於物也。
Once I meditated all day. It was not as good as a moment's study. I stood on my heels to look into the distance. I did not see as much as I do from on high. From on high I wave. My arm is not lengthened but people can see from afar. I shout in the leeward direction. The sound is not amplified but hearers will perceive it clearly. Riding a horse, my legs are not quickened but I cover thousands of miles. Sailing on boats, I am not able to swim but I ferry the rivers. A wise man is born no different from the others. He only makes better use of things.
Nowadays, new technology provides us with much convenience and extends much of our capabilities. We have machines that lift tonnes of iron, aeroplanes that fly in the air, telephones that enable people at great distances to talk with each other and computers that manipulate data in lightning speed. Homo Sapiens are truly sapient. They invent tools to amplify their muscular as well as intellectual strengths.
The story of Zacchaeus is enlightening. According to Luke, he was a chief tax-collector of Jericho. His stature was short. When Jesus came to Jericho, he attracted a huge crowd. In order to take a look at this legendary Jesus, Zacchaeus climbed up a sycamore tree (Luke 19:4). This was the first time Zacchaeus showed his wisdom in making use of things to his advantage. Back to his house, when he was dining with Jesus, he declared that he would give half of his goods to the poor and whomsoever was cheated by him before, he would restore 4 times (Luke 19:8). With this generous gesture, he earned the blessing of Jesus.
And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house." (Luke 19:9a)
Zacchaeus made good use of his money to earn eternal life! Once more, he showed wisdom.
I love the story of Zacchaeus because I am short in stature too. I always admire his wisdom. Most important of all, Zacchaeus shows me that in finding Jesus, we find our true identity.
He was a public sinner because of his job. He was rejected by all the Jews, his countrymen. Would his loyalty to the Romans bring him any advantages? I doubt very much. The Romans made use of him to collect tax and supplied him with just enough protection to do his job. Of course he could purchase a Roman citizenship. However, it would only be a second class citizenship and he still could not walk tall.
Jesus dined with him but it was an unplanned supper. Zacchaeus did not expect Jesus to notice him. So, when Jesus called out his name (Luke 19:5) and expressed his wish to stay in his house, Zacchaeus was overjoyed, so much so that he gave up half of his property and promised Jesus to repay fourfold whomsoever he had cheated. He must have been out of his mind! Yet, he attained his salvation and identity: a son of Abraham (Luke 19:9b).
Making good use of things is wise. But I think it is even wiser to make good use of men. Mrs. Mary Poon, my ex-boss, was a retired civil servant before becoming our principal. One of her administrative strengths was to hook the potential of her subordinates. She made use of her apparent weaknesses in Maths and Science to mobilize the senior teachers to work for her. She empowered them and held them responsible.
Her successor was burdened with a PhD title. While teachers in other schools meet many times to write up the School Self-Evaluation Report for External School Review, teachers in Shung Tak were spared the agony because the Report was penned by one man, our PhD ex-boss. In every subject area, he wanted to command respect. In so doing, he alienated most of the teachers and nobody wanted to put in any effort for the school. Let him handle it since he is a PhD. He left three years ago ignobly.
So be it that not making good use of people and things can be detrimental to one's career.
Dear Lord, You are our Good Shepherd. You call out our names one by one. Bring me back to the fold. Amen.
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