Lesson from a Baboon

by Tom Wacaster

I recently read an interesting article about the antics of a baboon. Someone living in Bagoda Mountains of Africa observed an old baboon running through a row of corn and literally cleaning every single ear off each of the stalks. The baboon would grab an ear of corn and tuck it under his arm, then another, putting it under the same arm. He must have been pretty stupid because when he would raise his arm to put the second ear of corn under it, the first would always drop to the ground. He would go all the way down the row, however, putting one ear after another under the same arm and dropping the previous one. When he reached the end of the row, he would have only one ear of corn. The baboon would then sit down with a worried expression on his face, wondering where the rest of the corn had gone. This dumb animal was so anxious to have all that he could see that he ended up losing all that he had.

Someone has pointed out that "God never promised to give us everything we want; he just promised to supply our need. We must be able to forego today's wants in view of tomorrow's needs." Living in a land of plenty, we have grown accustomed to getting what we want right now! Many a life has suffered disappointment because they, like the old baboon, sought to horde the things of life in an effort to possess more. Jesus reminds us that a man's life does not consist in the abundance of the things which he may possess. Unfortunately, our world has not yet come to grips with the fact that when one is minded to be rich he is inviting trouble into his life, and in the process, he often makes a monkey of himself.