A Child’s Lesson

Everyday Mrs. Davidson, my fifth grade teacher would read us a story after lunch. My favorite stories were Brer Rabbit, by Joel Chandler Harris, Uncle Remus. The stories were not only funny but taught a lesson about the way we should treat one another and other character building lessons.
The Tar Baby was the story that many of us have heard told or read. It was a story of Brer Fox’s plan to capture Brer Rabbit. He set up a tar baby by the path that Brer Rabbit passed by every morning. As Brer Rabbit passed by and spoke to tar baby, of course there was no response. Brer Rabbit’s reply “I’m going to teach you how to talk to respectable people, if it’s my last act,’ said Brer Rabbit. ‘If you don’t take say good morning, I’m going to beat you up”.
We know how the story ends with Brer Rabbit stuck to tar baby, Brer Fox happy that he finally caught Brer Rabbit, but is talked into tossing him into the briar patch. Out of the briar patch hops Brer Rabbi, “Born and bred in the briar patch, that’s me,” laughed Brer Rabbit.
It may seem odd but I think we can learn a lot about Christian behavior from this children’s story. The simplest of these is that when we are trapped by the forces of sin that we can be freed by simply returning to our Christians roots. God’s Word is where we must go back to if we are to find freedom from those sins. Even those sins we knew were wrong.
Psalms 19:12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.13Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
Psalms 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Galatians 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.