弱点的价值

弱点的价值

03 October, 2011

二〇一一年十月三日

Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Adam Navis. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand - no matter where in the world they live.

欢迎收听Spotlight广播。我是亚当·纳维斯。Spotlight运用一种特别的广播方式，它可以让世界各地的人们更容易理解。

Have you heard the English expression crackpot? It is not a nice expression. It means that a person is a little insane!

你有没有听过“crackpot”这个词呢？这个词语的意思可不怎么样。它指某人有一点不正常。

No one knows exactly where the expression comes from. But the meaning is clear. A crack is a small break. A cracked pot is a container that is just a little broken. So when someone uses the expression “crackpot”, he means that the person’s mind is a little bit broken. It is an insult! But a cracked container is not broken completely. Some cracked pots also have their uses. Christy VanArragon tells us a story about cracked pots.

没有人确切知道这个词语如何产生。但是它的意思很清楚。“Crack”是指小裂缝。一个有裂缝的罐子是一个有点破损的容器。所以，当有人使用“crackpot”这个词语时，他是指这个人的脑子有点破损。这是种侮辱！但是一个有裂缝的容器并没有完全坏了。有些破损的罐子仍有他们的用处。克里斯蒂·凡·阿拉贡将告诉我们一个有裂缝的罐子的故事。

The hot sun beat down on Sukanda’s back. He bent down on his knees by the cool lake. He lifted the water to his hand. He drank a little. It tasted wonderful on a hot day like this! But it was time to do his work. With great care, Sukanda filled his two pots with water. He hung one on each end of a long stick. He put the stick across his neck. And he stood up. He was ready for his long trip.

烈日暴晒着苏坎达的脊背。他墩子清凉的湖边，用手捋起湖水喝了一些。大热天里这湖水清凉可口极了！现在该干活了。他小心翼翼地将两只罐子盛满水并将它们系在挑棍的两端。他把挑棍放在肩上，然后站了起来，准备开始漫长的归途。

Each day Sukanda carried the water to his master’s house. The water pots were almost exactly the same. One pot was perfect. It held the water all the way to the master’s house. But the other pot had a crack in it. On the trip, water slowly spilled from the cracked pot. So when it arrived at the house, it was only half full.

苏坎达每天都要为主人家挑水。他的两个水罐几乎完全一样。其中一个罐子非常完美，它盛满水直到主人家里。而另外一只罐子却有个裂缝，一路上水会慢慢从缝隙里露出来，所以当它到了主人家里时，只剩下了半罐水。

Sukanda walked from the lake to his master’s house every day. It was a long and tiring trip. But he never missed a day. He was a good and hard worker. For two years, he delivered one half pot of water and one full pot of water.

苏坎达每天都要从湖边走到主人家里。这段路又长又累人。但是他风雨无阻。他是一个善良而勤劳的佣人。两年来，他都会挑回来两罐水，其中一只是满的，而另一只只剩下一半。

The perfect pot was pleased with itself. But the cracked pot was ashamed. It became very unhappy. He wished he were a perfect pot! So, after two years he decided to speak to Sukanda.

那只完美的罐子对自己很满意。而那只有裂缝的罐子却感觉非常羞愧。它变得郁郁不乐。它多希望它自己也是只完美的管子啊！所以，两年后它决定和苏坎达谈谈。

‘I am ashamed. I want to apologise to you Sukanda.’

“我很惭愧。我想向你道歉，苏坎达。”

Sukanda replied,

苏坎达回答说，

‘Why are you ashamed?’

“你为什么会惭愧呢？”

‘For two years, I have only carried half of my water load. Water leaks out of the crack in my side. My weakness means that you do not get the full value for your efforts.’

因为两年来，我只能盛着自己一半容积的水。水从我身上的裂缝里露出。我的缺点是你不能获得你的付出的全部价值。

Sukanda felt sad for the cracked pot. But he knew how to encourage the pot. He said, 

苏坎达很替那个有裂缝的罐子伤心。但是他知道如何去鼓励那只罐子。他说，

‘On our trip tomorrow I want you to look around you. I want you to see all the beautiful flowers that we pass.’

“明天回来的路上我想让你看看自己的身边，我想让你看看我们路过的那些美丽的花朵。”

So the next day, they made the same trip. And this time, the cracked pot looked up and around. It saw the wild flowers on the side of the path. It was true; they did pass many beautiful flowers. The cracked pot looked at the different colours - red, yellow, orange, purple. Nature was beautiful! And so the cracked pot cheered a little. But when they reached the master’s house, he became sad again. As usual, he had spilled half of his load. So he apologised again to Sukanda. Sukanda said to the cracked pot,

于是第二天，他们开始同样的路程。这次，那只有裂缝的罐子四处观察。他看到了路边的野花。他们确实路过了许多美丽的花朵。那只有裂缝的罐子看着那些五颜六色的花朵-红的、黄的、橙的、紫的。大自然是如此的美丽！这只罐子心情愉快了一些。然而当他们回到了主人的家里，它又开始伤心了。因为和往常一样，它的水洒了一半。所以它又开始向苏坎达道歉。苏坎达对这只裂了缝的罐子说，

‘Did you see the beautiful flowers along the way? Did you see that the flowers are only on your side of the path? They are not on the other pot’s side. That is because I have always known about your weakness, your crack. And I used it! I planted flower seeds on your side of the path. Every day we walked to the master’s house. And along the way you gave the seeds water! The seeds have become beautiful flowers. These flowers make me very happy. I have gathered these beautiful flowers. And I put them on my master’s table. This beauty only fills his house because of the way you are.’

你看到一路上那些鲜花了吗？你看到那些鲜花只长在你的那边路上了吗？它们并没生长在那只罐子的那边。这是因为我早就知道了你的弱点，你的那条裂缝。我利用了你的弱点！我在你的那边路上中了些花籽。每天我们回主人家的路上，你一路上都在给这些花籽浇水！这些花籽已经成为了美丽的鲜花。它们让我很快乐。我采集这些美丽的花朵，并把它们放在主人的桌上。因为你做的一切，主人的房间充满了美丽。

The story of Sukanda and the cracked pot is an invented story. But it has a deep and useful meaning. The idea of the story is this: each of us has our own individual failings. In one way or another, we are all ‘cracked pots.’ We may only see our failing as weakness. But sometimes our weaknesses can have strong results.

苏坎达和那只有裂缝的罐子的故事是编出来的。但是这个故事意义深远。这个故事的含义是：我们每个人都有自己的缺点。无论从哪个方面说，我们都是“有裂缝的罐子”。我们可能只看到自己作为弱点的弱点。然而，有时我们的弱点也会产生不一样的结果。

Mary Dessein is a therapist. She listens to people’s problems. And she helps people find solutions to these problems. In particular, she helps people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. Mary is also a storyteller. She believes that stories can help people understand themselves better. She uses the cracked pot story in her therapy. She wrote about the story for the website, “Healing Stories”.

玛丽·迪桑是一位疗养医生。她倾听人们的各种问题并帮助人们找到解决问题的方法。尤其是，她帮助那些沉迷于毒品和酒精的患者康复。玛丽也是个讲故事的人。她相信故事可以帮助人们更好地理解自己。她将这个有裂缝的罐子的故事运用到她的治疗中。并且将这个故事写在了“疗养故事”网站上。

“Story is a natural tool to use in addiction treatment. It offers a safe way to examine some very difficult issues. These can be frightening or shameful for a person to admit. There are many issues, and many stories.

在成瘾治疗中，故事是一个自然的工具。它为我们提供了一个检查一些困难问题的安全方式。一个人可能会害怕或羞于承认这些问题。有很多这样的问题，也有很多故事。

"This story works well in recovery. In these situations, people concentrate on their weaknesses and failings. This is good, because it helps people understand themselves and make good changes. However, sometimes people just concentrate on their weaknesses. The cracked pot helps people remember that even these weaknesses have a purpose. As a therapist, I believe the problems in our lives, and our weaknesses are also some of our best teachers.”

故事在康复中能起到很好的作用。在这些情况下，人们会专注于他们的弱点或失败。这是好的，因为它可以帮助人们理解自己并作出好的改变。然而有时人们仅仅专注于他们的弱点。这个有裂缝的罐子的故事帮助人们意识到即使这些弱点也是有目的的。作为一名治疗医生，我相信我们生活中的问题和我们的弱点同样是我们最好的老师。

You may remember our programme about Joni Earackson Tada. At a young age, Joni had a terrible diving accident. She broke a bone in her neck. As a result, she cannot move or feel anything below her shoulders. Joni was a Christian. She prayed for God to heal her body. But instead he healed her in a different way. He healed her spirit. She found a new purpose in her life. God used her weakness to help and encourage other people.

你可能记得我们那个关于乔妮·埃拉克森的故事。在年轻的时候，乔妮遭遇了一次严重的车祸。她的一块颈骨损坏了。于是，她双肩以下都不能动，也没有了任何感觉。乔妮是位基督徒。她祈祷上帝治疗她的身体。但是上帝以另外一种方式治愈了她。他治愈了她的精神。她找到了她生命中新的目标。上帝用她的弱点来帮助和鼓舞其他人。

Today Joni is a painter, speaker and writer. Her organization also helps people with physical problems all over the world. Joni has written many books about pain and suffering. She has spoken on the radio and television. Joni often remembers these words of Paul in the Bible,

乔妮现在是位画家、演讲家和作家。她的组织也帮助世界各地那些有生理问题的人们。乔妮写了许多关病痛和苦难的书。她曾经上过广播和电视节目。乔妮铭记《圣经·保罗》里的这些话，

‘My grace is enough for you. My power is made perfect in weakness.’

“荣耀归主。我的力量使得弱点变得完美。”

Joni believes that these words can be true for all people - no matter what their weaknesses are. You can read more about Joni Earackson Tada on our website. Her story shows that having cracks, or weaknesses does not mean failure. In fact, some people argue that a cracked pot is better than a perfect one.

乔妮深信这些话对于所有人来说都是真理，不管他们的弱点是什么。你可以在我们网站了解更多关于乔妮·埃拉克森的信息。她的故事说明，有裂缝或者弱点并不意味着失败。实际上，有些人认为有裂缝的罐子比完美的那只更好。