Norfolk Virginia Zoo

"It Looks Like ..."

 

I imagine Norfolk, VA police were skeptical when they received a call about a lion on the loose. But when two other calls came in on the same day (this past Tuesday) with the same report, they got serious. They called the Virginia Zoo to make sure none of their lions had escaped. Then they went out to Colley Avenue to investigate.

 

What they found was a dog, a Labradoodle (a cross between a Labrador Retriever and a miniature poodle) named Charles the Monarch. His owners deliberately have their dog groomed to resemble a lion, which happens to be the local college's mascot. Charles has fooled quite a few people since he's been around. His photo on the Internet news reports does bear semblance to a lion.

 

Not everything is as it appears, we've all learned at one time or another. Years ago, while vacationing in the Smoky Mountains, I awakened my family early one morning to come see the bear walking up the street. By the time they were awake, I had gotten my second look - at a large black dog. (Is my family never going to let me live that one down?!)

 

In our Internet-connected age, we're learning to be more scrutinizing of people who come to us with offers and sales. For a couple of years, I must have received a hundred or more emails from people in Nigeria offering me 10% of their personal fortune if I would only allow them to use my checking account for a transfer of funds. (No, I never fell for that one, but I've read of others who did.)

 

The Bible has much to say about "deception". There are deliberate attempts out there to make us believe something which just isn't so. Such attempts have been made since the earth has been populated with people. Remember why Eve ate the forbidden fruit? "... but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression" (1 Timothy 2:14). What had been presented to her as a blessing turned out to be a curse. The effects continue to be felt.

 

Paul warned the Corinthian Christians to be wary of some who were teaching different ideas: "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:13,14). The master of disguise? It has to be Satan. And that's bad news for all of us.

 

Let's be honest, though: the devil isn't the only one who tries to hide underneath a costume of holiness. "Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous" (1 John 3:7). It's not about how we look to others; it's all about what we really are, from the inside out. And God knows what's really inside of us.

 

And that's the most important fact we need to know: God knows. "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" (Galatians 6:7). I can take kudzu seeds and place them in a container marked "Flowers". But in time everyone will know I planted kudzu.

 

Yes, Charles the Monarch sounds like a name you'd give a lion. And, by George, he even looks a lion. But underneath that lion-looking mane, Charles is nothing more than a dog.

 

Timothy D. Hall.