相信大家都聽過孟子給梁惠王說的「五十步笑百步」比喻吧。梁惠王好戰，孟子就用戰爭做比喻的材料，說服他不要自以為是。比喻大概是這樣的：在戰場上打敗仗的時候，有士兵逃跑了一百步纔停下來，有些跑了五十步便停了。跑了五十步的取笑跑了一百步的。對嗎？【孟子‧梁惠王上】
當然不對！大家都是逃兵，你有甚麼資格取笑其他逃兵呢？耶穌今天說的比喻，也有異曲同工之妙。在天父前，大家都是罪人，我們有啥資格在天父前，踐踏別人，自我炫耀呢？
跑了一百步的，意識到戰情的凶險，距離敵人遠一些，存活的機會自然高一些。祗跑了五十步的，可能被短暫的成就，衝昏了頭腦，低估了敵人的戰鬥力。敵人再度來犯，恐怕命不久矣。同樣，稅吏意識到自己罪孽深重，便悔改回頭，得到慈悲天父的接納。回到家裡，成為真正的「義人」（路18:14）。那虔誠的法利塞人，毫無疑問已做足了法律所要求的一切。而且，他看見其他人未能滿全到法律上的要求，便沾沾自喜。真可惜，他被自己這微不足道的「成就」，衝昏了頭腦，忘記了倘若沒有天主的意願，他根本沒有能力完成法律上的規定。這所謂的「成就」，根本是天賜的恩寵。罪惡再出現時，自視過高的他，自恃一己之力，忘記了謙卑地求天主幫助，恐怕他會成了第一個犯罪跌倒的可憐蟲。
天父啊，可憐我吧，不要讓我成為可憐蟲。亞孟。
POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK (Luke 18:9-14)
I am sure all of you must have heard of the parable of "50-step laughing at 100-step" which Mencius told King Hui of Liang. King Hui loved fighting wars so Mencius made use of military materials to tell him this parable so as not to think too highly of oneself. The parable goes like this: When one side lost in a battle, some deserters ran 100 steps and stopped. Some stopped after running 50 steps. Those who had run 50 steps laughed at those who had run 100 steps. Were they right?
Of course, they were not. All of them were deserters. Who made you a judge over the others? The parable of the Pharisee and the Publican told by Jesus rings the same truth. We are all sinners before God. What qualifies us to trample upon others, to show ourselves off in front of our heavenly Father?
Those who had run 100 steps sensed the danger of war and kept the enemy away at a longer distance. They might have a better chance of survival. If you had only run 50 steps, you might be misled by your own achievement and underestimated the combat power of your enemy. If they attacked again, you might be the first to fall! In the same way, the tax collector sensed that his sins were many. He repented and was accepted by the merciful heavenly Father. "He went down home justified" (Luke 18:14). On the other hand, I am sure the pious Pharisee had not left out any law undone. He might congratulate himself when he saw others failing to fulfill the requirements of the law. What a pity, he was fooled by those little achievements and forgot that without God's blessing, he could never fulfill the law. These so called "achievements" were actually God's blessing. When temptation arose, this over-confident Pharisee would rely on his own strength and forgot to seek God's help humbly. He might become the first despicable person to fall.
Heavenly Father, have pity on me. Do not allow me to become despicable. Amen.
http://fll.cc/inspire/loser-laugh/
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