A Monkey In A Zoo
On our return from Florida last fall, we stopped by a zoo. Upon approaching a cage of monkeys, one of them thrust his arm through the bars of the cage all the way to the shoulder, with his hand upturned and a somewhat pleading, but belligerent, expression of "give me" in his close set eyes. When I did not respond with a morsel, he, quick as a flash, withdrew his hand, and grasping a long chain hanging within the cage, banged it against the bars with indignant humor. Seeing that he had riveted my attention, he snaked his arm between the cage bars once again with an impudent "you owe me something" expression. As I stared at him, the thought suddenly struck me with hilarious force that this monkey must be a member of one of the sponsoring churches! for he had more than enough to carry on his own program, while I had barely enough to carry me back home!
When Moses was building the tabernacle, the people were so liberal hearted that they had to be restrained from giving. "And Moses gave commandment and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much." Ex. 36:6,7.) Do you suppose that if some of the institutional brethren had been running affairs then they might have deemed it "expedient" to "expand our institutions" and call on the brethren for more and MORE to carry on "this great work"? I have a suspicion they would have acted about like the caged monkey. Notwithstanding the surplus, they would have banged the chain and cried, "More, more!"
Agur said: "The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough: The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough." (Prov. 30:15,16.) Today one might well add, a monkey in a barred cage and promotin' brethren in a sponsoring church!