A Farmhouse Fable

There once was a small mouse who lived in a small country farmhouse. One day, he peaked through a hole in the kitchen wall to discover the farmer opening up a package. His heart fell into his stomach when he saw what it was: a mousetrap. As quick as he could, the mouse scurried over to the barn to warn the other animals of the menacing mousetrap.

As he spoke with each animal, two things became clear: 1) no one was as worried about the mousetrap as he was, and 2) no one was going to do anything to protect him from it:
 


A sympathetic ear and a promise of prayer was better than the selfishness and apathy the mouse had received from the other animals, but it wouldn’t save him from the mousetrap. The mouse left the barn, dejected.

That same night, as the mouse was sleeping fitfully in his hole, too scared to venture out into the kitchen for fear of getting caught in the trap, he heard a great cracking sound. The trap had caught something: a copperhead snake, and by the tail! The farmer’s wife came out to investigate the noise, but just as she entered the kitchen, the snake bit her. The farmer came quickly and killed the snake, but the damage was already done.

The farmer called a doctor who immediately came over and did what he could, but even after his treatment the farmer’s wife still had a fever. The farmer knew that the best way to treat a fever was with some chicken soup, which meant a visit to the farmyard with a hatchet to gather the key ingredient. Still, his wife did not get better.

Friends and family came and watched the farmer’s wife around the clock. To feed his guests, the farmer butchered the pig. The barnyard was getting to be a very quiet place.
Sadly, the farmer’s wife eventually died; the venom had not been treated quickly enough. So many people came for the funeral that the farmer decided to slaughter the cow to provide enough meat for everyone to eat. The barnyard and farmhouse were now deathly silent, except for the squeaking of the mouse and sobbing of the farmer, both of whom were now alone.

This fable is not original to me, but I tell it here as both a warning and an encouragement to Christians everywhere. How often have you passed off someone else’s problem because it didn’t seem to affect you? The age in which we live trains us to be self-centred, and, like the cow in the fable, it can be very easy for us to be unconcerned with the concerns of others. Further, it is also the case that we can have good intentions but be so encumbered with our own difficulties that we refuse to hear the difficulties of others, like the chicken.

As Christians, we are commanded, “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others,” and further to, “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Philippians 2:4; Galatians 6:2). These commands should drive us away from any attitude that would have us unconcerned with others or only concerned with ourselves.

However, we also may be tempted to think that we have done our duty simply by uttering a prayer, like the pig. Prayer is a powerful tool that we should make use of in times of trouble, for the Bible says it is “effective” and “avails much” (James 5:16). However, when we fail to step in and do what we can to provide power to our prayers ourselves we fail to use the tool of prayer properly. James says that only a dead faith simply wishes a soul well when it could do something to help that soul (James 2:16, 17). He further says that a man who asks with wavering faith will receive nothing from the Lord (James 1:6, 7). We can safely assume that dead faith is included in the category of wavering faith, and so it too will receive nothing from the Lord.

Bearing one another’s burdens goes well beyond both ignoring pleas for help or simply passing those pleas off to God. It means that we will take an active role in helping to the best of our ability. Of primary concern when considering the needs of others are those needs which are spiritual. How many friends and family members do you have right now who are lost and who need the gospel, but you haven’t told them (Matthew 10:8; Mark 16:15, 16)? How many brothers and sisters in Christ do you know right now who are fallen away and in sin, awaiting a worse fate than before they became Christians (2 Peter 2:20-22), but you haven’t made any attempts to convert them back Christ (James 5:19, 20)?

Failing to help others in their time of need can have drastic consequences on us both physically and spiritually (e.g. 2 Corinthians 8:13-15). Why not apply the fable of the farmhouse to your life and make a conscientious decision both to consider the needs of others and to help them? The Lord will reward you for doing this, the kingdom will be edified and increased, and there will be joy to enjoy instead of tears.

-Patrick Swayne
patrick@tftw.org