智慧人生篇章 第13期:施受之間

Few of us want to appear dependent: witness therugged determination of many older people toresist support to which they're entitled; and theintense frustration of some who've spent a lifetimecaring for others who now find it painfully difficult toaccept that they're the ones who must be caredfor.The Christian faith, like others, commends thegood life as one spent in loving service of God and ofother people.But it makes clear that the willingnessto receive is just as much a part of what it means tobe truly human.We enter the world totallydependent, and however confident, self-contained we might become, we do so only inrelationship with other human beings and with gifts which are exactly that - abilities, skills,which are first given. And we never outgrow our need to receive love, human and divine. But itcan take both humility and courage to recognise it.

沒什么人愿意顯出依賴性，目睹過很多垂垂老者堅決不接受他們應得的幫助，有些一輩子都在照顧別人的人難以接受自己要被人照顧的事實?；浇绦叛龊推渌粯?，贊美虔誠伺主、關愛他人的人生。但也說明，能同時接受別人的給予也是真實人生的一部分。我們出生時完全無法獨立，無論我們后來變得如何自信、自持，這都是在與他人接觸中才會展現的，而且與之相關的能力、技巧一開始也是從別人那里得到的。我們永遠都需要接受愛，同情和善意，但只有謙卑和勇氣才能讓我們醒悟到這一點。