Two True Fables: Part Two
(To read Part One, click here)
Nearly every 60s family had a turtle. Some flushed theirs down the toilet (resulting in an outbreak of sewer-dwelling ninjas). But our neighbors the Cartingers couldn’t bear to part with their too-big-to-flush tortoise Toby, and he eventually grew to be the size of a dinner plate.
There was no containing him. He would wander incessantly, so the threat of stepping on him was ever present–he was visibly nervous about living amid a herd of sneakers. So Mr. Cartinger drilled a hole in the corner of Toby’s shell and tied a length of hot-pink yarn to it. The other end he tied to the foot of the stairs.
Toby was now free to roam, and whenever anyone wanted him they would simply “follow the yarn.” Things went swimmingly. One moment Toby would be on the third stair and an hour later he’d be on the fourth stair (I said he wandered, I didn’t say quickly).
One day, while vacuuming, Mrs. Cartinger heard a series of bangs upstairs. She stood absently vacuuming the same spot at the foot of the stairs as the noise moved from room to room. Suddenly, as if wearing a tiny-but-powerful jet pack, Toby zoomed into view at the top of the stairs, then shot down them at roughly eight million miles an hour…
And crashed into the vacuum cleaner. Mrs. C. stared uncomprehendingly, and then turned off the device. The little reptile settled to the ground as his horrified human mom realized the vacuum cleaner had spooled up the end of his tether!
There was nothing left but a shell. No legs, no head, no… Oh, calm down, he was fine–he was hiding inside his shell. Amazingly, he was uninjured, and came out just…
six weeks later.
The Message
Sadly, most religious folks are Tobys or Fat Cats:
Tobys are legalists. They live in fear of God. Not the Old Testament kind (awe), but the fear of Godzilla kind. They tether themselves to religious laws and hide behind a shell of religion, all the while hoping to avoid the Creator they claim to worship. They live in fear of being stepped on. They see God as distant, mercurial, and dangerous. They know of sin, but not of grace.
Fat Cats are liberalists. Their doctrine is not fear, but presumption. They have no tether. In fact, they have no authentic connection to God. If they pray at all, it’s to butter him up (“I love you soooo much!”). They know of grace, but not of sin.
Both miss out. Toby the Turtles miss God’s rest and comfort. Fat Cats miss his protection from sin, from themselves. (In his attempts to connive chicken, Fat Cat regularly missed out on the de-boned chicken my mom lovingly prepared for our other cats!).
Two things we can never fully understand: the depth of our sin, and the depth of God’s grace. Only God can reveal them to us. No secondary source, no spiritual teacher, not even God’s written Word, can fully reveal them to us. Only God himself can.
So go to the source. Go to the Shepherd and learn to know his voice. Don’t be a turtle, don’t be a fat cat…
Be a sheep.
“My sheep know my voice, and I know theirs. And I give them eternal life.” ~John 10:27
Pingback: Fat Cat | Mitch Teemley
Great analogy and the humor really makes the message real for me. On legalism and talking with God I agree, it’s easy to get caught up in doing deeds and acting right to get in God’s graces, on the other hand the buttering up of God through prayer is always funny to me because we think we can fool him somehow. I do it, we all do probably, but it gives us an opportunity to catch ourselves and talk to God even more. Thanks for the laughs and the insight.
LikeLiked by 2 people
And thank you for your reflections on it, BD.
LikeLiked by 1 person
At times, I see myself a legalist, and other times a liberalist, but I call myself a fundamental conservative Christian. My daily battle is to put myself totally in God’s hands, and focus my life toward His calling.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, many (most?) people pendulum from one extreme to the other. Your solution is the best one I know of, Will.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I loved this. 🙂 You’re so talented.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a great analogy. I believe I am a sheep, at least that is what I am working at.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You do seem to have a pretty sheepish heart, Carla. ;>)
LikeLike
I especially enjoyed the turtle story because my daughter has a tortoise who is a beloved family pet. It made me think of those words from Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing: “let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee…” great fables!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you, Danny!
LikeLike
Oh Mitch what a great post❤️ Be a sheep not s turtle. BAAAA🐏🐏🐏🐏
LikeLiked by 2 people
;>)
LikeLike
I think if I could ever truly see my sinfulness in the face of God’s righteousness and purity I would dissolve on the spot. Thankfully He loves us so much He won’t let us. Or maybe He should.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I really enjoyed this, more now that I see the analogy (poor Toby! Glad he survived all that).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh my, Mitch, this is the BEST thing you’ve ever written!!! What an AWESOME analogy and portrait of truth! I absolutely love it! A definite re-blog! 🙂 God bless you, dear brother! 👍🏻🙏🏻☝🏻
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aw, thank you so much, Dori.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are most welcome! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on Celebrate His Love and commented:
This is well worth the read… you will love the apology and message! I guarantee…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Toby the Turtle made me laugh and then gasp. Sharing this one with my Mom. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Shari. Say hi to Mom for me. ;>)
LikeLike
This is absolutely wonderful. Love the analogy and perspective, and twists, and turns and a turtle that as I gasped reading this, wasn’t actually dead. Nice. Job!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you.
LikeLike
It’s already been said many times, but this is a perfect, very well written analogy. It also brought back fun memories of the ’60’s when my dad found a turtle in a wheat field, and as soon as he met it, our fat cat crawled on top of the shell and sat for hours, daring the turtle to poke its head out.
LikeLiked by 1 person
;>)
LikeLike
I wondered where you were leading us with Toby–never guessed it would be to a vacuum cleaner! Adding my appreciation to those above for a memorable analogy. Well done, as always, Mitch. And praise God for our Shepherd who provides guidance, care, peace, contentment, and more for his sheep!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Amen, Nancy!
LikeLike
Oh that was cruel. Knowing nothing of turtle anatomy, I feared the worse
LikeLiked by 1 person
;>) When threatened, turtles completely retract their head and limbs inside their shells.
LikeLike
I love how you explain things… not intimidating or boring. I hope alot of people can read your work, especially those who really need to know more 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. Me too. ;>)
LikeLike
I was s legalist in my twenties until I fell so far I was humbled by my sin-filled heart. I try to be a sheep, (try-legalism?) I know I can do or be nothing without him. Love your post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amen, Belle! “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” ~Colossians 1:27
LikeLiked by 2 people
Excellent. My pastor would appreciate this analogy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. Feel free to share it with him. One of my blog Categories is “For Pastors and Teachers.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Such a good post! When I read the–not enjoyed by me word– “vacuuming”…I thought that you were going to tie these two fables into your post “Equal Pay for Women”! As in…why wasn’t Mr. Cartinger helping with cleaning? But…alas…he just helped to tie up the poor turtle and took away his freedom (if he indeed wanted freedom!). Too much freedom vs too little freedom. There we have the decision that God leaves up to us. ***I am sharing this so that my teacher friends can read it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
;>)
LikeLike
Hi Mitch,
It’s finding that walk in between our lazy cat self and the turbo fast-paced life? Lord be our balance.
In Christ,
Gary
LikeLiked by 1 person