The Parable of the Mouse and the Frog

For his eighth birthday, Jared received a Pacman frog from his Florida cousins. Isn’t he cute and little? He was just about the same size as his water dish. He was cute and slimy and ate crickets quickly and unexpectedly. He would occasionally hop around his 5-gallon cage. WHen fishing season was over, the gas station (not The Little Cricket) did not carry crickets and suggested worms.

Pacman continued to grow. He is about the easiest pet possible. His bark stays cleaned - he’s water-bowl trained. However, he outgrew crickets and worms and moved on to live mice. We buy them at the pet store once a week and throw them in the cage and (usually) they’re digesting within thirty seconds.

Last week, the pet store was out of “hoppers” so I bought “fuzzies”. The fuzzies are tiny baby mice that have just a little bit of hair on them. They don’t move very much & Pacman was not very interested. They were starting to look sickly so I returned them back to the pet store and bought a hopper. He was the cutest and friendliest little mouse that we have ever brought home. He stood on Pacman’s back when we first put him in the cage. He even stood on two legs as if he was going to escape.

And so they co-existed for days and days. We put a spoon with peanut butter in the cage so that the mouse wouldn’t starve to death and gave him water so he would not die of thirst (ironic). I knew that inevitably he would be gone and I was kinda okay in the whole circle of life kinda way. Last night, I found the mouse sitting well within striking distance of a lazy frog. (He just wanted to be friends!) Pacman just sat still and watched and waited. After I took the boys to school this morning, the mouse was gone. Pacman is sitting fat and happy in his cage.

This picture is not today's mouse.

It was while the mouse was sitting inches away from his eventual demise that the analogy of avoiding temptation came to me. Standing back, we all knew that the mouse would be eaten if he stayed inside the cage. Just as I know from past experience that the mouse was going to be eaten, I know that there is grave danger in drugs and alcohol, pornography, and adultery. This analogy could extend to dishonesty, reckless driving, and other dangerous behaviors. I know that this analogy could be further developed but I think you get the picture. :)

When I am trying to lose weight, I do not buy French fries and cheesecake to keep in the fridge just in case. If you are not going to drink alcohol or do drugs, you are not going to spend the majority of your time with people who are involved with drugs and alcohol. If you do not want to commit adultery, you will not spend time alone or share confidences with a member of the opposite sex. If you do not want to get caught in the trap of p*rnography, you are not going to try just once.

We put the mouse into the bad situation. He did not have a choice in the matter. We always have a choice. I have always loved the talk “Spiritual Crocodiles” by Boyd K. Packer. He says what I am trying to say very eloquently. You can read the address here. Let me know what you think.