FERRETING OUT (From the Archive)
A Dramatic Moment from TOTAL IMPACT Vol. 1 Issue 10 originally published in October 1993
When taking psychology in college, I was there when they discussed abnormal behavior. I was there when we learned about hereditary influences. I think I missed the day on ferrets.
I say this only because I believe that owning a ferret can definitely lead to a disturbed form of insanity. The house that I now live in includes one of these fury elongated mammals. I cannot, as of yet, refer to my house as a home because that would give the building a rare sense of personality. A building with that sort of distinction has to first meet three specifications:
1) Peculiar answering machine messages.
2) Crayon etchings on the refrigerator.
3) No rodents.
I know not all individuals would consider the fair and quiet creature we know as a ferret to be a rodent. This derogatory connotation seems to assume that the animal has an essence of danger about him, while in reality, ferrets have only one essence. Stink.
Even the term "ferret" comes from an ancient Latin term that, depending upon your pronunciation, can either be translated to mean "one brick short" or "smells like bologna." Most ferrets smell this way because they
eat cat food. Why? They don’t make ferret food. Maybe it's just me, but I imagine I would find the fact that someone forgot to invent the specific sustenance I need to live offensive. But, that's the difference between me and my friend the ferret. He is unoffendable because he is an idiot.
He is clueless. He has no idea what is going on. Cat food, glue, mud. Who really cares — as long as it's moist and filling. As long as it gives him the energy to bluster about, finding busywork in carrying virtually meaningless items (i.e. empty toilet paper rolls) across the house while slinking and cowering from sink to sofa, it’s a grand meal. This qualification alone is what makes a ferret fun.
So, let's recap the ferret's life, shall we? He gets the sustenance to live, albeit it makes him smell like a cat. Therefore, he is “saved.” He hauls everything from car keys to old hot dog buns under the living room ottoman. Therefore, he is “busy.” Last, but not least, he entertains.
Therefore, he is “fun.”
But, is saved, busy, and fun enough to maintain a life? Some individuals seem to think so.
Is the meaning of life found solely in saying s single prayer, then working and playing hard? Or is there much more that sometimes our good intentions blind away from us? Does God simply want to give Him all we can DO? Keeping infinitely busy, constantly underfoot, ever fun?
The ferret may never run out of events to fill his day, but he never goes anywhere. He never accomplishes. He just stays busy. Not challenged, just content.
Sometimes, in the pursuit of pleasing God, we forget how to pursue God. We seek a means to the Creator when we should be seeking the Creator Himself. Sometimes it’s easier to drown in what we feel we can do for Him in order that He do something for us. But, the Gospel is not a DO Gospel. It is a BE Gospel. It is in the being that God will cause you to become the man or woman who is able to do what He has called you to do. It is in being a follower of Christ. In being a listener. In being obedient.
Only then will our lives become anything more than busywork. Only then will our motives travel further than to and fro. And only then will we be able to stop carrying the same junk that we held onto from the beginning. We will become new, fresh, motivated creatures of God - and then, perhaps, God will use us to encourage some rodent other than ourselves.
Next: “Of Love and Lunch” A Dramatic Moment from TOTAL IMPACT Vol. 1 Issue 11 originally published in November 1993