Wednesday, October 19, 2011

The Talented Skunk

There was one unexpected person present when the Grand Animal Council was summoned by the Great Lion. The sparrows with their beautiful voices were as usual amongst the first to arrive. The owls in all their wisdom were all present and accounted for. The creative monkeys also took their respective places of honor in the assembly, as well as the powerful tigers.
Yet everyone present was surprised to see that Mr. Skunk had also been chosen to be present. No one would dare tell him to leave, as his attendance implied that the Great Lion had some reason for his being there, and no one would ever doubt the Great Lion. Yet at the same time there was uneasiness in being in the company of the skunk, as most feared that one wrong word or action could upset the skunk and cause him to spray his stench all over the prestigious invitees. He did not possess the talent of the others who were present, but again, the desire of the Great Lion caused the assembly to accept him.
It must also be said that his presence at the meeting was also a mystery to Mr. Skunk. He was a humble skunk and wondered how such a person as he should be amongst such a prestigious Assemblée of animals. Nevertheless, he was honored by the invitation to come and eagerly awaited the Great Lion with the others.
They did not have to wait long until the Great Lion stepped forward to address the council. He was a majestic beast with a long golden mane and massive paws. His voice commanded a respect that was only outdone by the penetrating stare of his large brown eyes. He had complete control over the entire wilderness. He was known to be both wise and powerful, and there was not one animal in the assembly who would have dared say a word against his reign. The whole assembly hushed as he surveyed the crowd and his powerful, deep voice proclaimed:
“There is a great tragedy that has occurred in my wilderness. My sheep have come to be lost. As you all know, sheep are not wise like the owls, so I will need the help of everyone present to find and account for all of the lost sheep. Everyone make this your priority in the coming days, and the council will meet again in one week in the hope of having all of the sheep accounted for. I do not want my sheep to be devoured by the wolves in the wilderness. I have given you all talents, so I want you to use your talents to help you find the sheep.”
While Mr. Skunk was very happy to be included in the prestigious Grand Animal Council, he was greatly distressed upon hearing this charge from the Great Lion. Sure, the other animals must be well able to accomplish this task, as they all have such amazing talents. The elegant sparrows would be able to use their beautiful voices to attract many sheep, as their glorious melodies are able to charm even the most barbaric crocodiles. The owls would be able to use their great learning to reason out the exact location of the sheep and present clear logic to them so that they would all seek out the Great Lion. The monkeys would be able to use their artistic abilities to show the beauty of the Great Lion and attract the sheep to him. Even the potent tigers in all their power would be able to use their strength to cross the rivers and climb the mountains to rescue the sheep from the-hard to-reach places and defend them from even the fiercest of wolves. Being in the company of such impressive creatures, Mr. Skunk wondered what he brought to the table. Those that inhabited the wilderness generally tried to avoid him because of the potential stench that he could cause them.
Upon reflecting on his discouraging predicament, Mr. Skunk decided to first seek out the help of the more talented animals to see if there was some way he could assist them in what was sure to be a more effective method than what he could do. He first went to the sparrows to see if they wanted to solicit his help.
“Excuse me, my sparrow friends. You are known throughout the entire wilderness to have the most beautiful voices amongst all the living things. As I am not nearly as talented as you are, perhaps I can help you find the sheep.”
“Ah yes, finding the sheep,” said the first sparrow. “That is a very noble task that the Great Lion has given to us. Of course you can help us.”
“Yes, you are most welcome to help us,” said a second sparrow. “However, before we begin searching for them we are going to write a song for the Great Lion.”
Mr. Skunk was a little bit surprised by this response, as the charge that the Great Lion gave appeared to be a most urgent one. “I would like to help you, but I don’t think we should wait long, as there are many sheep that are lost in the wilderness.”
“You cannot put a time limit on our artistic task, Mr. Skunk,” the first sparrow retorted. “The Great Lion gave us the talent of singing, so we plan on singing. We prefer to do what we like to do to please the Great Lion.”
“Exactly,” added a third sparrow. “Once we have finished our song to the Great Lion, which he will no doubt appreciate, we will get started on this other task.”
Mr. Skunk was uncomfortable with this approach to finding the sheep, so he thanked the sparrows for inviting him to help but told him he was going to try to find another way to find sheep.
Being someone frustrated with the sparrows, Mr. Skunk contemplated that if anyone would think accurately about this task, it would be the owls. The owls were the sages of the wilderness and they would surely know not only how to proceed but also how best to direct the efforts of Mr. Skunk. Approaching the owls, he said:
“Good day, my owl friends. I was reflecting upon how to start finding the Great Lion’s sheep, so I thought that since you all are the wisest and most cunning creatures of the wilderness, perhaps I could work with you in this mission.”
“We would love your help,” one of the owls said with a long owl grin. “Yet I feel as if we have a greater responsibility towards this task since we are the wisest in the entire wilderness.”
“Yes I concur,” added a second owl. “Since the Great Lion has blessed us with wisdom, perhaps our role should be in telling all of the other creatures how to find the sheep.”
“I think that is a great idea!” exclaimed Mr. Skunk. “We can go out and look together, and as we go I will learn everything I can from you while finding the Great Lion’s sheep.”
“I fear you have misunderstood us,” the first owl replied. “We feel that going out and actually looking for the sheep would be a detriment to the cause because it would take up so much of our time. After all, the Great Lion gave us the talent of wisdom, so finding sheep is much better suited for people with other talents. Rather, we are in the process of writing a book that can teach all the different animals about how to find sheep. We like writing very much, and we prefer to do what we like to do to please the Great Lion.”
“The book is going very well,” another owl said excitedly. “We will be sure to save you a copy.”
Mr. Skunk was sure that they would write a very good book. He was somewhat confused at the owls’ reasoning, as by writing the book they wouldn’t actually be doing what the Great Lion said to do. Nevertheless, he knew the owls were much wiser than he was, so he decided to let them write their book and look for another way to find the sheep. He then turned to the monkeys and their creative genius’ for help.
“Hello, my monkey friends,” Mr. Skunk said as he approached the monkeys. “I know that you are highly regarded by everyone in the wilderness because of your creativity, and I was thinking that you would have all sorts of ideas about how to find the Great Lion’s lost sheep. Since I am not as talented as you are, I thought that you all might come up with a creative way that I could help you in this task.
“It is very kind of you to give us such compliments,” said the first monkey. “But we have presently started a task of our own that we think the Great Lion will appreciate very much, much more even than the finding of sheep. We are preparing an artistic dance to honor him at the next Grand Animal Council meeting.”
“Oh! We are so excited,” said a second monkey. “This is the best choreography that we have ever had. This spectacle will have a unique blend of pulsing percussion, ground rhythm and tree acrobatics. There is no doubt that the Great Lion will be very impressed!”
“He will be very impressed, indeed!” exclaimed another monkey with a joyful smile on his face. “And that is why we are all here in this wilderness, after all. We are here to be pleasing to the Great Lion. We just prefer to do what we like to do to be pleasing to the Great Lion.”
“Would you like to see what we have so far?” the first monkey asked.
Mr. Skunk opened his mouth to respond, but before he had the chance the monkeys had already started their show. A group of gorillas began to beat on massive drums and some chimps began swinging from tree to tree in rhythm with the drums. There were a group of orangutans dancing with torches on the ground, and all of it combined proved to be a very impressive showcase of creativity.
After the monkeys finished Mr. Skunk gave them applause and confessed truthfully that it was the best spectacle he had ever seen. He lamented, however, that this was not going to help him find the Great Lion’s sheep. He wondered why the monkeys were not looking for sheep, but he concluded that the Great Lion would surely appreciate their spectacle. Mr. Skunk, however, was determined to find the Great Lion’s lost sheep, so he left the company of the monkeys trying to suppress his envy of the monkey’s creative abilities.
After the monkeys Mr. Skunk decided he would see if he could help the tigers. The tigers were amongst the most powerful in the forest and were adept and able to reach the tough places. They had the speed to travel far away and the strength to climb the tallest mountains. Mr. Skunk concluded that the tigers with all their strength would be much more effective at finding sheep than he would, so he decided to offer them his services.
“Greetings my tiger friends!” he said. “You are known throughout the entire wilderness to be the most powerful animals that dwell here. There is no doubt that you will be able to find many sheep, and since you are much more talented than I am, I thought that perhaps I could be most effective in the Great Lion’s mission by helping you.”
“That is very kind of you, Mr. Skunk,” the first tiger declared. “We are most thankful to the Great Lion for making us so powerful.”
“Unfortunately,” a second tiger joined, “on account of the fact that the Great Lion made us so powerful we have many more responsibilities. I am not sure how much time we will have to go find sheep.”
“There are indeed many other tasks for us,” a third tiger added. “We must provide food for our families to make sure they eat very well so that our cubs can grow to be as strong as we are. We must also continue our strict strength regiment so that we can continue to be strong. We will continue to work out hard, and when the Great Lion sees all that we are capable of he will be happy with how we have used our talents to become even more talented. Besides, we have to protect the weaker animals that are not lost from the wolves as well. We like these responsibilities, and we prefer to do what we like to do to honor the Great Lion.”
“Yes, there is no doubt when the Great Lion sees our speed when we run and our strength when we hunt that he will be very happy with our strict regimen. After all, we must not be lazy.”
“Yes,” added another. “He will also appreciate the wolves that we kick out of the wilderness. We will rid this wilderness of all conflict.”
Mr. Skunk knew that the tigers would do this task very well. The dirty wolves were surely no match for the tigers and he felt much safer knowing the tigers were on his side. However, he still wondered why the tigers didn’t see the need to find the Great Lion’s sheep, but he knew that the tiger’s great power made them much more talented than he was, so he let it go.
Discouraged, Mr. Skunk realized that he was not going to find help in this task from the other animals. It was hard for Mr. Skunk to not be envious of the other animals. He wished that he had the voice of the sparrows, the wisdom of the owls, the creativity of the monkeys and the strength of the tigers. He did not have these things, however, and he realized that he must use the talents he had been given to find the sheep.
While pondering what he would do he came upon a pasture where he found five sheep. The sheep were dumb and they could not understand the language he was speaking, so he had to come up with another method to lead them to the Great Lion. The Great Lion had instructed him to use his talents, so he thought about the things that made him unique. He realized that he had a remarkable talent for making things stink. In fact, there was no creature in the world more talented at making things stink than Mr. Skunk, so he decided to use this talent to his advantage.
The sheep were travelling down a path that was leading them away from the Great Lion. Mr. Skunk scurried on ahead of them and sprayed their way with such a stench that would make even the most stopped up nose rebel against the direction of the disgusting odor. All five of the sheep squealed and turned around to abandon the direction that Mr. Skunk had sprayed. Mr. Skunk soon learned that it was fairly easy to direct them as long as he showed them that the only way that didn’t stink was the way that led to the Great Lion. After some travail Mr. Skunk succeeded in leading these five sheep near the spot where the Grand Animal Assembly met.
All week long the skunk labored like this. Mr. Skunk showed his resilience by scurrying up towering mountains and swimming across raging rivers to search out every sheep within a distance that he could travel. He was relentless in his service and by the end of the week Mr. Skunk had succeeded in leading ninety-nine lost sheep to the Great Lion. Mr. Skunk knew that he was not very talented and thought there was no way he could have found as many as some of the other animals, but he hoped that the Great Lion would be pleased. He was excited when all of the animals reconvened at the end of the week for their council meeting.
The Great Lion stepped forward at the council with all the animals assembled around him. “First,” he said, “we will hear from the sparrows. How many sheep have you found?”
The spokesman for the sparrows stepped forward. “Before we speak of this matter, Your Highness, we would first like to honor you with a song we wrote for this occasion.”
The sparrows then began their concert. They launched their chant in four part harmony with such precision that it seemed as if there were only four sparrows singing despite the fact that they numbered over forty. Those who heard their song were moved to tears and they met with a great applause from nearly all of the animals present. The one present who did not applaud, however, was the Great Lion.
“That was indeed a very pleasing song, but don’t forget that it is I who have given you the ability to sing this way. Yet our present task is to find the lost sheep so that they won’t be devoured by the wolves. How many sheep have you found?”
“I’m afraid we spent all of our time preparing this song, Great Lion. We thought it better to use the talents you gave us like we wanted to.”
The Great Lion’s patient face glared at the sparrows with a look of strong disappointment. “The question is not what you like to do, my young sparrows, but what needs to be done. You have disobeyed my commands and your singing has dishonored me.”
A great silence grew over the whole assembly as the dishonor done to the Great Lion had brought an intense shame to the sparrows. After a moment of deep dissatisfaction, the Great Lion lifted his head and turned to the owls.
“Owls, let us discuss your efforts. I have made you the wisest of all the animals. Surely you have brought many sheep to me.”
The speaker for the owls approached and said, “We reflected greatly on how we might best serve you. Since you blessed us with such an intellectual disposition, we decided that we could best serve you by writing a book for the other animals so that they might know how to find the sheep. After all, we like to write books and we thought that we could best use our talents by doing what we like to do. We are very pleased to present you with our Magnum Opus, entitled How to find the Great Lion’s Sheep.”
The Great Lion took the book and thumbed through it. I have enabled you to write this book with the talents that I have given you. However, we are here to speak about my lost sheep. How many sheep have you brought to me?”
The speaker for the owls quietly said, “We spent all of our time writing the book. We did not find any sheep.”
There was a piercing silence that came over the crowd. The entire Grand Animal Council held their breath in fear of being the one who broke the muteness that had befallen the wilderness. In the midst of this charged stillness the stare of the Great Lion’s strong brown eyes were cutting through the soul of the owl’s spokesman. The owl could not return the glance as he stared at the ground. The look of discouragement was now starting to boil. The Great Lion’s voice this time had a hint of anger as he said:
“I have not asked you to write a book. I have asked you to find sheep. I like books, but you have deliberately disobeyed my mission in order to make this one. This book will forever be the shame of your people. The question is not what you like to do, but what needs to be done. This book has dishonored my name.”
Great shame was on the face of the owls, and it was now present amongst the other creatures who had also not found sheep. The Great Lion then turned to the monkeys.
“Monkeys,” his powerful voice echoed, “How many sheep have you found?”
The speaker of the monkey’s stepped forward and said, “Before we discuss the matter of the sheep, allow us to present to you our new spectacle.”
Upon saying this, the gorillas began beating on their drums. They had not been playing them long, however, when the Lion roared so loudly that the entire wilderness shook. The gorillas stopped the drums and everyone turned to look at the Great Lion.
“How many sheep have you found?” exclaimed the Lion in a growing fury.
The monkey in great fear was staring at his feet when he said, “We did not find any sheep, your majesty.”
The Great Lion roared in such a way that the speaker of the monkey fled behind the Gorillas and their drums. “Tigers, how many sheep have you found?”
The spokesman for the tigers, in all of his proud strength, remained hidden from the Great Lion because of his understood disobedience. He did not even have the courage to admit his neglect of the Great Lion’s commands.
The Great Lion understood and roared. The assembly wanted to flee from his wrath, but knew they couldn’t run far. The Great Lion arose to all fours and began to speak:
“I have asked you to find the lost sheep. How many sheep have been devoured by wolves because of your arrogance? I gave you your talents to serve me with, yet you have used them to do the things that you like to do rather than the things that need to be done. Do you not know that I desire mercy and not sacrifice? Where did you get the idea that what you wanted to do was more important than what I commanded you to do? The question will never be ‘What do I want to do?’ The question will always be, ‘What has the Lion commanded?’ You have ignored my commands and have used your talents to dishonor my name. The songs of the sparrows, the books of the owls, the spectacles of the monkeys and the feats of the tigers have brought disgrace to me. Is there no one here who has found any sheep?”
Fearing the Great Lion and humbled by the problems he knew were in his own heart, Mr. Skunk meekly raised his hand. The Great Lion saw him and looked him in the eyes. Mr. Skunk was the first animal to return the glance, using his weak eyes to look into the depths of the giant brown eyes of the Great Lion.
“Mr. Skunk, have you something to report?”
“Yes, your highness,” Mr. Skunk responded timidly. “I found ninety-nine sheep and have led them here.” Upon saying this, Mr. Skunk scurried away behind where he was keeping the sheep, sprayed behind them and led them into the presence of the assembly.
A tear fell from the eye of the Great Lion as he saw all of the sheep who had been lost but were now found. The sheep ran to the Great Lion and cuddled up against his mane, and the terrible anger that was on his face changed into jubilant laugher as he played with the sheep that had been found. The disturbing tension of the preceding moments had been transformed into a scene of holy gentleness that moved all of the animals present. After a few minutes of playing with the sheep in the presence of the assembly, the Great Lion turned his visage to Mr. Skunk.
“Well done my good and faithful servant!” he exclaimed with a giant smile across his giant mouth. “You did not receive the voice of the sparrows, the wisdom of the owls, the creativity of the monkeys or the strength of the tigers, yet you remained faithful to me. Come and reap your reward.”
Mr. Skunk came forward bashfully and the Great Lion seated him beside his throne and placed a crown on his head. “You have found ninety-nine sheep,” the Great Lion said, “but there is still one who remains lost. The Good Lion must leave the ninety-nine to find the one, and I will lose no sheep that belongs to me. While I am gone, you must lead these unfaithful animals and teach them to use their talents to do what I command and not simply what they like to do. For to him who is faithful with a little, more will be given.”
Mr. Skunk no longer cared that he couldn’t sing like the sparrows or reason like the owls. The creativity of the monkeys and the strength of the tigers likewise no longer appealed to him. Rather, the smile of the Great Lion had been worth all the work that he had done, and he now knew that he had all the talent necessary to serve the Great Lion in the way he wanted to be served. The other animals looked to the example of Mr. Skunk and brought honor to the Great Lion as a result of what they learned from him. This was plenty to content some old smelly skunk.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

dev184 - The Gypsy's Prayer

Evil plans are an abomination to the LORD,
    But pleasant words are pure.

Proverbs 15:26

A few weeks ago during my trip to Rome I met a man with what I consider to be a very challenging job. His trade: being a witness of God’s love to a group of people who have a reputation for being the biggest crooks and thieves in the world – the Roma people. These roaming gypsies are known throughout Europe for their quick hands that are skilled at relieving you of your wallet and their clever scams that weasel you into giving them money. They raise their children to be as good as they are in these schemes, continuing a cycle of a people group whose entire goal is to be a leach on whatever country they live in while invading the fanny packs of as many tourists as possible.

This worker gave me some very fascinating insights about his experience working with these beggars and thieves. He told me that if I wanted to feel good about myself he could take me to preach to a large group of Roma that he could easily gather together. After I preach I could give an invitation in which 100% of those present would state that they want to give their lives to Christ. After this, I could come back to preach to them the next day, and again they would all give their lives to Christ. They would buy whatever I was selling.

Yet one of the most interesting things he told me was about a conversation he had with one particular Roma man. They were talking about prayer and about the need we have to express our dependence on God and ask Him for our daily essentials. In the course of that discourse the man said something that I found to be both ridiculous and disturbing. He said, “Oh yes, of course we should ask God for help. I ask God to help and protect me every day before I go out stealing.”

On the surface, this statement is laughable because of its absurdity. God is not in the business of helping people steal. Stealing is sinful and there is no excuse for someone living in and promoting this lifestyle. The Bible teaches that such a life is not compatible with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. One cannot plead ignorance to the wrongness of stealing, as everyone born under the sun knows in their hearts that stealing is wicked. Yet, for this man who has developed a lifestyle of sin, he has so blinded himself to his own injustices that he is asking the One who will see this stealing as rebellion to help him. He is asking the judge of the court to help him steal money from the state.

Do we ever get to the point in our disobedience that we ask God to help us be worse followers of Christ? Sadly, I think there are ways we can see this mindset running rampant in our society, though perhaps not as perceptibly as we see in this gypsy. Those who think that God exists to make them rich, heaping up for themselves treasures on this earth and ignoring the needs of the world all the while asking God to help them get more money, have they not become so delusional that they have become blinded to the fact that they are doing the same thing that this professional thief is doing? Those who pray that evil may be done to someone who needs the Lord or that God could help them keep their idols prominent are doing the same thing. It is scary to know that our sin can so deceive and indwell us that we could actually ask a righteous God to help us in such endeavors.

God is not going to help this gypsy in his plans. Evil plans are an abomination to the Lord and will receive his judgment. Let us watch carefully what we pray for, as often our prayers reveal what our greatest desires are. If our greatest desires are revealed to be the glory of the name of the Lord amongst the nations and in our churches and families, then let us continue earnestly in our supplications. If our prayers reveal our greatest desire to be burglary and idolatry, let us bow our self-deceived hearts in repentance. May our plans be committed to the Lord, and, if they are not, by all means in His mercy let them be thwarted.