A Harley Junior Story Revisited

As Rachel and I read a devotional and Bible passage before bedtime tonight, we were asked to reflect on a time when we experienced God's protection. The story I shared was an obvious choice.

Harley Junior and I on a ministry trip in the mountains.

Back in August of last year, I wrote a post about a hair-raising experience I had on my motorbike several years earlier. As I reflected on that experience, I saw a parallel to situations we face in everyday life when temptation speeds our way, and we think we have no way out.

I think....hope...I have more readers now than I did back in August, so I will share the story again.

You can find the story by clicking this link.  Harley Junior and I Find a Way of Escape.

What the Cat in the Hat Teaches Us About Temptation - Part 5

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In the previous four posts, we've taken a look at the children's classic The Cat in the Hat to see how has strong similarities to how temptation works in our own lives. If you haven't read the earlier posts, you can easily link to them here.

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4

We left the kids "looking down the business end of the mother of all messes". I believe that is a quote from the movie version of the story. Their fish has repeatedly sounded the alarm, but the kids didn't heed the warning. They were likely taken by surprise at first, but after a while, they may have been a bit impressed by the cat's antics.

Today, we will take a look at what happens when it all is about to catch up with them.

About To Be Caught

The fish in the story sounds a new alarm. 

“Your mother is on her way home, do you hear!”

“As fast as you can, think of something to do.

You will have to get rid of Thing One and Thing Two."

The kids are about to get caught with their house in chaos. End of the line, kiddos. Crash and burn. There is NO WAY they want their mother walking in and finding those two Things tearing through the house. How the kids wish they had never let them play. For that matter, why had they ever let the cat stay in the first place? 

Those of us who have ever allowed the “cat” and his pals to have free reign in our lives know how bad that situation is.  We are about to…or finally have…hit bottom. What will it take to put on the brakes?

Here is where we see something new happen in the story.  The boy finally takes charge.  He gets his net. He takes action. He catches the two Things and makes them stop.  Then he looks the havoc-wreaking feline in the eye and says,

“Now you do as I say.

You pack up those Things 

and you take them away.”

The Will Kicks In

 

The boy’s will had finally kicked in.  He decided that enough was enough, and then some. Of course, the cat was not happy to be kicked out of the place he had overrun, but he had to go.  The boy didn’t apologize for kicking him out.   

Neither should we apologize to the Tempter for kicking him and his pals out of our lives.They don't belong. They have no right there unless we give it to them. If we have already given them the right to wreak havoc in our lives, we have the authority to kick them out.

We cannot kick out our "cats" and his pals by merely saying, "I know this is wrong." That is no different than the fish shouting his warnings.

Our destructive visitors won't leave if we merely point out what a mess they are making. No, those pesky "cats" will stick around as long as we allow them to stay, breaking families apart, wrecking health, and drawing us into habits and patterns that would eventually destroy us if allowed to continue. 

We have to engage our will, our power to choose, if we are to ever get rid of them. We must bring our will into agreement with the voice of our "fish". This is not easy. Not at all. But when you are "looking down the business end of the mother of all messes", the alternative is far, far worse.

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Today, we have seen the importance of engaging our will and bringing it into alignment with our conscience. We have seen that the "cat" and his pals have no right to stick around when we actively choose to evict them.

Tomorrow, in the final post in this series, we will see that the Cat in the Hat metaphor doesn't quite work all the way to the end as we face the monumental task of cleaning up the mess left by the "cat".

What about you?

If you have been following this series, have you gained any new thoughts or perspectives on this topic for yourself? I am writing these posts for adults, but have they given you any ideas for using the children's book to talk to the kids in your life about temptation? Feel free to share any thought in a comment.

What the Cat in the Hat Teaches Us About Temptation - Part 4

In the last three posts, we've considered what the classic children's book The Cat in the Hat has to teach us about temptation. We've seen how boredom and negative feelings set us up for temptation. We've seen how when we are not prepared to reject something that is wrong, we often will fall for it. We've also seen how our conscience and other people sound the alarm when we head the wrong way. It becomes clear that when we ignore the warnings, we can count on a real mess.

If you haven't read the first three posts yet, you can check them out here.

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3

Today, let's consider why merely knowing something is wrong is not sufficient.

The Fish’s Voice Isn’t Enough

When the "cat" shows up in our lives sometimes, only our consciences protest, but our wills have yet to come on board.  In the story, we find the single voice for what is right saying:

“You get out of this house!” said the fish in the pot.

Unfortunately, the cat was already there.  He liked to be there and refused to leave.  The kids had given him a right to be there when they did not kick him out from the start.  This was actually the first parallel I noticed between the story and our experiences with temptation.   

In the story, the fish could protest the cat’s presence all he wanted, but the cat was not obligated to obey the fish. In the same way, our consciences can scream all day, other people can warn us till they are blue in the face, but no one can make our personal “cats” go away until we engage our wills, choose to kick the cat out, and take back the house, so to speak.

Out of Control

Some people will listen to the “fish” at this point and take action to kick the “cat” out of the house.  They still have a mess to clean up, but nothing compared to what they will face if they fail to take action.  

You see, the cat has another trick up his sleeve.  Another “fun” game.  In the story, the cat runs out and then comes back in with a box.  In the box are two things that wreak absolute havoc in the house. 

Of course, the cat tries to pass “Thing One” and “Thing Two” off as being tame, innocent, friendly creatures that just want to show the kids a bit of fun.  

Once again, the fish sounds the alarm.  Once again, the cat tells the fish to “Have no fear!”  Once again, the kids are unprepared to make a decisive response.

“And Sally and I didn’t know what to do.

So we had to shake hands with Thing One and Thing Two.”

Once we are so far gone down the wrong road, we find that other things take over. We feel that we no longer have any choice in what we do, or say, or think. It seems that we HAVE TO do whatever “Thing One” and “Thing Two”, (whatever those Things are to us), tell us to do. 

This is the point where addictions kick in, full-blown affairs wreck marriages, health is completely broken, and compulsive thoughts and actions dominate lives.

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Today, we have seen that the voice of the "fish" whoever or whatever you consider that to be, is not enough to get rid of the the "cat". Does this sound like a depressing scenario? Unfortunately, many people live every day in such a situation. Thankfully, this is not the end of the story.  

Tomorrow, we will see how bringing our will into line with our conscience and the warnings of others makes all the difference.

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What about you?

Do you have a "Thing One" and "Thing Two" in your life? Something that you know is not good, but has a strong hold on you until you feel you are powerless to resist?  Have you perhaps had a "Thing" like this in your life in the past, but now are free. You may share anonymously if you like. Perhaps we can encourage each other to find freedom from the "cat" that just won't go away.

That Pesky Thorn! (Part One)

Altars and Thorns Steal Victory

This past Sunday, one of the Scripture readings was taken from Judges 2.  Verses 1-3 caught my attention, not because of the Old Testament context, but for the New Testament application.  The fact is, these three verses have a lot to say to us today.  Let’s look at them.

“…I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, and as for you, you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed me; what is this you have done?”

“Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall become as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.’” (NASB)

First of all, we see that God made a covenant, a promise, to His people.  He promised to be their God, to give them protection and victory as long as they followed Him.  The people, for their part, were to make no covenant, no compromise, with the inhabitants of the land.  The altars, the places and objects of worship of other gods were to be torn down.

God’s people did not obey in this regard, and there were consequences.  Because of their compromise and disobedience, they would no longer have victory over their enemies.  Instead, those things they allowed to remain would be like thorns in their sides, a constant source of trouble, frustration, and temptation.

Harley Junior and I Find a Way of Escape

I have lived in Indonesia for over nineteen years now.  Nearly two decades have provided me with many experiences that have shaped my thinking.  Nearly fifteen years ago, Harley Junior entered my life. 

No, Harley Junior is not my husband. 

Harley Junior is not my boyfriend. 

Harley Junior is not even a person. 

And believe me...Harley Junior is very, very junior. 

Harley Junior is my motor scooter, an 85cc Honda that has faithfully transported me around this island for nearly 70,000 miles.  I’ve learned much about trusting God while riding on “Harley”.  I’ve discovered a lot about God’s provision and protection as Harley and I have ventured out of our home.

One time in particular, Harley and I were returning to the city after a weekend of ministry in the mountains.  The road snaked its way down the mountain making for quite a challenging drive. This time the drive was more challenging than most.