Today, the Pastor of our local church spoke on the subject of "Monkey Traps". It is one of my favorite subjects because I am so much like these poor monkeys who find their freedom lost because they just can't let go.
The story is told that back in the days when exporting Spider Monkeys to the US was still legal, that Indians would trap these little monkeys by taking a gourd, cutting a small hole, just big enough for the monkeys slender hand, then fastening the gourd with a chain to a stake in the ground. The trapper would then put a tidbit of the monkeys favorite food inside the gourd. When the monkeys came by they would try to get the bait out of the gourd by reaching in and grabbing it. This type of trap was successful because no matter what, the monkey would not let go of the tidbit, however with the bait in it's hand it couldn't get it's hand out of the gourd, trapped by it's own greed.
This story has been told so many times that I doubt even my take on it is different or unique.
It is the rare Human Being that can at the moment of salvation let go of all the monkey traps in their lives, we call these traps sins. It's easy to let go of the Big Ones like drunkenness, drug addiction, sex addiction, immorality, lying, etc. etc.. By the time we come to the Lord these sins have usual caused us or others close to us great harm. But what about the "smaller sins" the little tidbits that, the ones we seem to "get by" with.
What do I mean? I mean those things like pride, unforgiveness, selfishness, resentment, covetousness, fear and many other sins that primarily take place in our heart and mind.
Pride is probably the worse of those, I don't mean those warm fuzzy feelings you get when someone says to you "well done" , thats legitimate pride. No, I am talking about that kind of pride that causes self-justification or self righteousness, the kind that Jesus slammed the Pharisees and Sadducees for. That kind of pride is so hard to root out of our personal life because it hides under veneers of good doing.
Christians are especially easily trapped by this "monkey trap", anytime you hear a pastor or teacher say something like "were not like the church down the street" or "we are right they are wrong" you are hearing statements of sinful pride. Anytime a Christian attacks another human being for their sin they are suffering an attack of sinful pride, they are blind to their own pride, their own sin, they are assuming Gods job and condemning other people. You can not help people when you are condemning them instead of loving them. Jesus judged the Jewish leaders and teachers, He was God incarnate, we are not.
Unforgiveness is a real "monkey trap". It leads us into many other sin's. If you do not forgive another you are trapped in your feelings of anger and distrust and those feelings will spill into other areas of our lives harming yourself and sometimes others.
So what's the solution?
Why, let go of course.
Let go of," I'm right you're wrong", let go of judgements, let go of fear. Let go and let God. Our God is Big enough to handle it all, but first you have to know you are in sin, that's where taking a regular inventory like the one I suggested in "Ten Commandments A Guide To Holiness", can help.
Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
May God Keep you and bless you richly.
Les
The story is told that back in the days when exporting Spider Monkeys to the US was still legal, that Indians would trap these little monkeys by taking a gourd, cutting a small hole, just big enough for the monkeys slender hand, then fastening the gourd with a chain to a stake in the ground. The trapper would then put a tidbit of the monkeys favorite food inside the gourd. When the monkeys came by they would try to get the bait out of the gourd by reaching in and grabbing it. This type of trap was successful because no matter what, the monkey would not let go of the tidbit, however with the bait in it's hand it couldn't get it's hand out of the gourd, trapped by it's own greed.
This story has been told so many times that I doubt even my take on it is different or unique.
It is the rare Human Being that can at the moment of salvation let go of all the monkey traps in their lives, we call these traps sins. It's easy to let go of the Big Ones like drunkenness, drug addiction, sex addiction, immorality, lying, etc. etc.. By the time we come to the Lord these sins have usual caused us or others close to us great harm. But what about the "smaller sins" the little tidbits that, the ones we seem to "get by" with.
What do I mean? I mean those things like pride, unforgiveness, selfishness, resentment, covetousness, fear and many other sins that primarily take place in our heart and mind.
Pride is probably the worse of those, I don't mean those warm fuzzy feelings you get when someone says to you "well done" , thats legitimate pride. No, I am talking about that kind of pride that causes self-justification or self righteousness, the kind that Jesus slammed the Pharisees and Sadducees for. That kind of pride is so hard to root out of our personal life because it hides under veneers of good doing.
Christians are especially easily trapped by this "monkey trap", anytime you hear a pastor or teacher say something like "were not like the church down the street" or "we are right they are wrong" you are hearing statements of sinful pride. Anytime a Christian attacks another human being for their sin they are suffering an attack of sinful pride, they are blind to their own pride, their own sin, they are assuming Gods job and condemning other people. You can not help people when you are condemning them instead of loving them. Jesus judged the Jewish leaders and teachers, He was God incarnate, we are not.
Unforgiveness is a real "monkey trap". It leads us into many other sin's. If you do not forgive another you are trapped in your feelings of anger and distrust and those feelings will spill into other areas of our lives harming yourself and sometimes others.
So what's the solution?
Why, let go of course.
Let go of," I'm right you're wrong", let go of judgements, let go of fear. Let go and let God. Our God is Big enough to handle it all, but first you have to know you are in sin, that's where taking a regular inventory like the one I suggested in "Ten Commandments A Guide To Holiness", can help.
Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
May God Keep you and bless you richly.
Les
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