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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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