Most people are familiar with the story, of the boy who cried wolf. He thought it was a great deal of fun, to stress people out, by the boy’s foolishness. He laughed, when he did stupid things; everyone got stressed. For him it was funny. He was wise in his own eyes. Everyone could see the dangerous road the boy walked on. He could not. He was totally oblivious to the hurt and pain he caused others. But one day, the boy’s antics caught up with him. They always do. We live in a world, where some people love us, care for us, they do not want to see us fail and fall. Butterfly. The butterfly was trying to break out of the cocoon. It needed the struggle, in order for blood to get pumped through to its wings. Hence, it would fly. But instead of helping the butterfly, the boy ended up killing it. He slit the cocoon, to free the butterfly, but instead, he stopped its struggle in growth, and it killed the butterfly. Sometimes people are so motivated in helping, they are destroying the required struggle, of growing up. This is not the first time I have done this SNL. I did it, for the same reason, a few years ago. Trying to help, but instead, lessons the boy must learn, have not been learnt. Gratitude not learnt. Humbleness not learnt. Self-control not learnt. Clearing up and washing dishes not learnt. Lifting up people not learnt. All the lessons, that need to be learnt for the nature and character are not being learnt. We can ride off the success of others for so long, but then, the horse bucks the rider. We must make our own effort in life. The best way to learn independence, is when all the support mechanisms are removed. That forces a person to stand on their own. But whilst a person knows deep within- they will bail me out- then the person cannot learn. Best thing to learn, is remove the support mechanism. The beggar Acts 3: 2-3 asked for money. He wanted to get support, how he always knew- people to help. Then he expected money from Peter and John. They didn’t give him any. They gave what they had; Christ. Verses 6-8 they gave a helping hand, helping the individual to stand on his own. No gifts. No money. No nothing. Just being there. What was the result of the right type of help? He jumped to his feet and he began to walk. I did the caterpillar and the butterfly in CL this week. We need to really assess, not from our view point, but from a Biblical perspective, am I helping this person to be mature, independent, or am I just feeding their dependency on others? We can mean well, as the little boy did, but he killed the butterfly. Let us look after our own cocoons, and deal with our own cocoons, as we see fit. Spoiling, a spoilt child, will not help anyone. Especially the child. Falling and failing is good for the nature and character. You can only help a repentant person. But a person, who has no remorse, in wrongdoing, is a person heading for a big fall. Let them.
MCC Admin
21 Tishrei 5783