IT IS a story about a family that lived in the mountains and their donkey. One day, the father and his son, riding the donkey, went down to town to buy some goods. Along the way, they passed by some villagers who mocked them for abusing the donkey, saying that the donkey was too small to carry them both. One of the folks suggested that the father should go down to lighten the donkey's load and let his son ride the animal.
Upon reaching the next village, they encountered another group of people who scorned the son for being a disgrace by allowing his father walk while he comfortably rode the donkey. The son, shamed by the comments, decided to come down and asked his father to ride the donkey instead. After traveling a long winding road, they reached the third village and again, they heard sneers from some of the town folks saying that the father is such an irresponsible person for letting his child walk under the scorching heat of the sun. Feeling guilty after hearing these comments, the father joined his son in walking and pulling the rope of the donkey.
When they passed by the last village before the town, folks were smiling at them sarcastically and said that they were silly enough to walk while they had a donkey to ride on. The father and the son, confused and tired of hearing different comments, both decided to carry the donkey as they continued their journey to the town. As they reached their destination, they found all town folks laughing in tears.
The moral of this story is indeed something that all of us should remember and live by. It is quite true that if we listen to all the comments of other people, and try to please all of them, we will end up a fool. The lesson that we should learn is that we must always remember that it is important to please God first, and also ourselves before thinking about other people. At the same time, we should not forget that it is important to ensure that what we are doing is morally right and that we are not getting in the way of other people.
Oftentimes, we end up being frustrated by trying to live according to other's expectations and beliefs that we tend to lose sight of what truly makes us happy as a person. We should always set our priorities according to our aspirations and remember that if we please God alone, then all the things that our heart desires will be accorded to us in His perfect time.