I love Aesop's fables. I think the dude was a genius. One of my favourites was a story about a dog and his shadow. A Dog was crossing a bridge over a stream with a piece of meat in his mouth, when he happened to see his own reflection in the water. He thought it was another dog with a piece of meat twice as big; so he let go his own meat, and dove into the water to attack the other dog to get the larger piece. But, of course, he got neither. One meat was only a shadow, and the real meat he already had was carried away by the current.
What shadow have we been chasing in place of the real thing? Lord help us not to become like that dog.
So God said, in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.” It wasn’t long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out. And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them—the God we bless, the God who blesses us.
(Romans 1:24-25; the message)
Thursday, October 4, 2007
The Dog and The Shadow
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4 comments:
It's been awhile since I've heard this fable, Daniel, must have been during my schooldays - but the message is so relevant to us all in different levels, first it teaches us not to be greedy as there's a risk of losing all we've got and second it teaches us not to lose sight of what is truly precious to us whilst chasing a dream.
Carol, you're exactly right! excellent observation and application. I'd take a note of that for next time I'm preaching about this. Thanks!
And so it is when people get carried way with every wind of doctrine, when they see something dazzling to the eye and covet it. We can see the same thing in human relationships - "the grass is greener" syndrome meanwhile, we never realized or appreciated what we had.
It is a dangerous thing to covet because that can permeate every facet of our lives - be it a leader, a strange god, doctrine, romantic relationship, or just a piece of meat.
Very good post! God bless.
Thanks for writing this.
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