A Lesson From George

My young son has always loved Curious George. He has the books, he's seen every episode of the show...He loves the animated monkey and all the troubles George has to figure out and lessons he must learn. Well, even though I've seen the episode at least once before (probably more), my son was watching Curious George the other day and this episode really stuck out to me.

The overview of the episode is where the citizens of Smallville (I think that's what it's called lol) are presented with a maze competition:  who can complete a giant corn maze first. The prize is a trophy and bragging rights. Several characters entered the competition - each determined to use their own method, resources, and intellect to conquer the maze and hopefully be the winner. 

What really stuck out to me, was this particular scene. Please take a moment to watch this quick clip that is less than a minute. Now, please show me grace, I am not tech savvy and the only way that I could edit and do a video clip without making you watch an entire episode of Curious George was to use a base app and send it to my Facebook Messenger. If you have Facebook and/or Messenger, it should automatically open up and play. If not, make sure you are logged in. Click HERE to watch the short clip. And...if you can't view the clip and have five minutes to spare, you can click HERE to watch the already edited video that I tried to work with. They cut out 25 minutes of the episode so a lot won't make sense, but you will get the gist. 

Now that you've watched it, here is what came to me. That maze is much like our walk of faith in life. Though the Lord can see above it all and sees the End from the Beginning (like Mr. Quint in the hot air balloon), we, as participants in the maze race of life, cannot. We enter the race, the maze, with one goal in mind: reaching the finish line and winning the prize. But, our prize is not a gold trophy and bragging rights, our prize is being in the presence of the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY and worshipping Him forever and ever with new righteous bodies that will no longer know sin or suffering....eternal life.

We cannot see the exit to the maze, we can only see walls and corridors before us. We know that there is only one correct path, but how do we find it? How do we navigate and stay on the correct and righteous way that leads to victory? To find out, we have to look at the characters in this Curious George episode oddly enough.  

In the episode, one team - Sheriff Quint and his wife, relied upon technology (GPS) in order to find the exit. What happened was halfway through the maze, the batteries died on their GPS unit. However, did they continue to go using the paper map they had been offered? No, they had denied the map and instead chose their savvy technology. And not only did they not have a map, they obeyed their device's every command - thus making fools of themselves by walking in tight circles. Even Mrs. Quint made the statement, "This just doesn't feel right," but did they stop and figure things out? No, they just kept on until they literally collapsed in exhaustion right where they were, disqualifying them from finishing the race. Now, that part wasn't in the video, the video I used had been edited as well - but that is what happened in the actual show. 

Who are the Sheriff and Mrs. Quint? They are those who put their trust not in the Lord, but in science and the world. What the world tells them to do, they do without questioning. We can very much see this in what is going on right now with the "cv jab." They would rather believe and obey a scientist, doctor, or politician than search the Word of God or even more important - seeking the Lord Himself. They do what they are told, without question...even if "this just doesn't feel right" as Mrs. Quint herself said. Even when things do not make sense and the data doesn't add up, because they blindly trust in anything other than Christ, they are stuck in the race - disqualified from winning the prize. They belong to the world, not Christ.  

A second character, Sprint, chose to rush through the maze, using her speed to finish. It was more about being first and fast than using her logic and intellect. As a result, she was first throughout the race, but she got distracted by both the circular path and the square path, getting caught in the infinitum of running literally - in a circle. Did she finish the race? No. Her chance at victory ended with the distraction of self ability and just...distraction. One of Satan's tactics with the Christian is distraction: distract us with attacks, with theories, with material things, lusts, sin, trials, jobs, ministries, you name it.  The sole point of a distraction is not to make you lazy, but to take your mind, your heart, and your time away from the Lord and His Word. It doesn't matter how smart you are, what you do, or how well you do it. If you neglect seeking the Lord on everything you will not finish the race as victor. 

If we rely on our own strength, our own wit...we will eventually get stuck. And that in and of itself becomes a distraction. If we focus too much on anything other than Christ and His Word, we will lose focus, invite a spirit of slumber (and possibly error too), and will spin our wheels. It is so very easy to be like the character Sprint. We think to ourselves, "I've got this! I can do this!" Then here comes the circles and squares of life, they can look like anything. So do you run in circles and squares, leaving the correct path? Or do you remember the prize which you are running for, and keep your eyes ahead on the Way of Righteousness?

Not included in the episode clip you watched, but there was another character, Bill, a young kid setting out all alone. He chose not the map, not technology, and not his own abilities....he chose to "follow the bread crumbs", except in this case he used corn kernels. His strategy was to leave a trail of corn so he could see all the places he had been. This was a great strategy in the beginning, but in the end it left him behind as confusion set in and every path had corn that he had dropped.

Bill represents those who rely upon the traditions of man to get through their life. They are those who cling to tradition - whether it be denominationalism, legalism, even churchianity/lukewarmness. They approach life the same way their preacher told them to, and told their dad to, and told their granddad to....and it does not involve God's Word or is an erroneous interpretation of God's Word. At first, the traditions of man seem comforting, it's what they know, it works, it appears to get them where they want to go....but in the end they find that it does not satisfy and it does not end in victory. 

What are the traditions of men? It is anything, any institution/denomination, any man that says salvation is conditional with things outside of the Gospel and God's Word. It's vain repetitive prayers, it's burning incense and candles, it's saying my way is the only way or my church is the only church. Traditions of men aim to set apart, but not in holiness, they set apart for the sake of pride and vanity, elitism. 

It also looks like what I call "churchianity" or the life of a lukewarm Believer. This is where people think as long as they go to church, sing the songs, and appear good on Sunday - they can live however they want to outside of it. Do not judge. Being a good person is good enough and everything is permissible to them. They scoff at living righteous and holy, they deny the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and they put more emphasis on the church congregation than the Lord Himself. They say they believe, but yet their Bible is coated in dust and their greatest concern is whether or not their favorite sports team will win the game that day. The traditions of man lead to death. Seek the Lord, not your favorite pastor. Study the Word for your spiritual meal, not some self-help New Age Christian book that sounds good and is trendy on Amazon. 

Lastly, we have the beloved characters Curious George the monkey and his owner/friend The Man with the Yellow Hat. They saw all the other race participants and their methods. They saw no one took an offered map. However, they knew a map would be what they needed in order to win the prize. At first, it was slow going and they were dead last in the beginning. Sometimes, they'd look at the map and misinterpret it, which led them to dead ends and roundabouts. But, they persisted and stayed true to the map, eventually they won the race in first place.

This map that George used and everyone else rejected was the Word of God. The Lord gave us His Word in order to teach us, warn us, encourage us, guide us....It contains everything we need in order to run the race with endurance and finish it in victory. Why should we reject it? Those who reject the Word of God will not see victory, but death. Those who do not seek the Lord and trust in Him, will not endure. The same is said of the Holy Spirit. The Man with the Yellow Hat acted as the Holy Spirit to George, he warned George when he was about to take the wrong path. Did he stop George? No, but he allowed George to see how he was wrong and why, as well as gently restore him back to the right way. He also helped George to decipher or interpret the maze map.

Sometimes, like with George, we'll get things wrong. We'll misinterpret or misread, or even get taught a deception/doctrine of error - causing us to stray off the path and hit a dead end. But, if we seek the Lord and hear His voice, we can turn around and allow Him to lead us back to the better way, the path of righteousness. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit when He speaks. He is our helper and He is God, the Holy Spirit. If He convicts your heart, repent! If He tells you to be still and wait, be still and wait. If He warns you and gives you discernment, listen! And when He blesses you with gifts and anointing, use it.

So, my question to you this week is this:  which character of the maze race are you? Are you the Sheriff and Mrs. Quint relying upon science/the world rather than going to the Lord first in whole surrender? Are you Sprint, relying upon your own strength, ability, and intellect rather than submitting to Godly wisdom and the discernment of the Holy Spirit? Are you Bill, staying within the comfort zone of your denomination, the traditions of men, and living like the world while saying you are a follower of Christ? Or are you like George, relying upon the tried and true Word of God, and listening to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, seeking the Lord for everything and letting Him lead?

I pray that we all be like George as silly as that sounds for me to say, lol. Seriously, may we all evaluate where we are in this corn maze race of life and strive to seek the Lord. May we humble ourselves before Him and accept His Word. May we not fear that which is to come and may we not allow ourselves to be distracted from the Kingdom work of the Father. In the end, if we endure, we will win the prize - oh what a glorious prize it will be! I yearn for the prize:  sitting at the feet of my loving Savior, hearing His voice with my ears, seeing Him in all His beauty and holiness with my own eyes, and just worshipping Him - oh worshipping Him for all eternity, the God Whom I dearly love. 

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. 

- Acts 20:24

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 

- 2 Timothy 4:7

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 

- Proverbs 3:5-6

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 

- 2 Timothy 3:16-17

So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” 

- Hebrews 13:6

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 

- John 14:26

We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” 

- Acts 5:32

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.  

- Hebrews 12:1-2