CLINT PERCEFULL - CHILDREN'S MINISTER
Some, my wife included, call me “a big kid” due to my personality and interests. Nine times out of ten I will pick to watch a movie geared toward kids instead of a more adult centered one. My office is decorated with posters of characters such as Wiley Coyote and Minions. I still consider candy one of the basic food groups! However, there is one particular kid show I have never really cared for, Winnie the Pooh. Nothing ever seems to happen and I fall asleep listening to him talk. Yet, this droning character and friends help paint a great picture of the contrast between wisdom and folly.
In one of the stories told in “Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too” we see a great illustration of Romans 1:22 “Professing to be wise, they became fools.” This story starts out with Rabbit tending his garden when all of the sudden Tigger comes bouncing in. He is so excited that he accidentally destroys Rabbit’s garden. Rabbit has had enough and hatches a plan to rid himself of Tigger. The next day Rabbit invites everyone on a hike into the woods. During this hike he persuades Pooh and Piglet to purposefully ditch Tigger in the woods in hopes that he would become lost.
Rabbit sees his opportunity and convinces Pooh and Piglet to hide in a hollow log when Tigger isn’t looking. Tigger turns around and notices that he is no longer with his friends and begins to search for them. Eventually Tigger disappears into the woods and the three hiders emerge from their hiding place. It is at this point that we begin to see the connection to Romans 1:22. A thick mist comes over the woods and Rabbit, Pooh, and Piglet become lost themselves. They actually start walking in circles. Pooh offers advice, but Rabbit thinks he knows better and decides to set off on his own. Pooh and Piglet eventually find their way out of the woods and find Tigger waiting for them back home. However, Rabbit, the one who proclaimed to know the way...the one with the master plan...had not returned.
Rabbit proclaimed to be wise but was a fool, and his plan backfired in the most ironic way. Additionally, Pooh and Piglet both made the decision to follow Rabbit’s leadership, a decision they knew was wrong. we all make choices every day on who/what to follow; some sound wise in their speaking, yet we can be thankful that God has given us a discerning spirit to guide us. Proverbs chapter 8 shows us that both wisdom and folly are actively seeking our attention. Which will you choose to listen to?
- Clint