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A Rat Trap In The
House
A rat looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening
a package. What food might it contain? He was aghast to discover that it was
a rat trap. Retreating to the farmyard the rat proclaimed the warning, "There
is a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!" The chicken clucked
and scratched, raised her proud head and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Rat; I can
tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot
be bothered by it." The rat turned to the pig and told him, "There
is a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!" "I am so very
sorry, Mr. Rat," sympathized the pig, "but there is nothing I can
do about it but I will pray. Be assured that you are in my prayers." The
rat turned to the arrogant cow. She said, "Like wow, Mr. Rat. A rat trap.
I am in grave danger. Duh?" So the rat returned to the house, head down
and dejected, to face the farmer's rat trap alone.
That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a
rat trap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught.
In the darkness, she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the
trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the
hospital. She returned home with a fever. Now everyone knows you treat a fever
with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for
the soup's main ingredient. His wife's sickness continued so that friends and
neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them the farmer prepared
the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well. She died, and so many people came
for her funeral that the farmer had the cow prepared to provide meat for all
of them to eat. So the next time you hear that someone is facing a "rat
trap" problem and think that it does not concern you, or that there is
nothing you can do to help, remember that when there is a rat trap in the house,
the whole farmyard is at risk.
I think this story reflects the attitudes of many today. Which attitude do you
possess? Which animal are you, so to speak? How do you react and respond when
someone you know has a rat trap to face in this life? We are all faced with
problems and struggles of life that vary in nature and form. Typically, we deal
directly and prudently with our own problems. The way we deal with our own problems
is not the issue in this article! Rather, we need to notice how we deal with
other people's rat traps. I ask again... which animal are you?
(Matthew 13:15; Romans 13:11)
James 2:14-17; 1 John 3:17-18). The key verse is 1 John 3:18b. Sorrow and prayer
need to be "followed up" by appropriate actions to alleviate the painful
situations of life.
The rat, "head down and dejected," had to face the crisis alone. In
life, most of us will face our battles alone. The chicken, pig, and cow didn't
have time to help the rat in his dilemma. The irony of the story is amazing.
The farmer sets out to kill the rat. However, before the story is over, the
chicken, pig and cow are all dead ... and the little rat lives on. All three
animals were affected by the rat's dilemma. Which animal are you? I hope we
will not be like any of them. I hope we will not end up like any of them. Rather,
"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ"
(Galatians 6:2).
By Penny Mae
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