Oh Rats! Am I stuck?

I could seriously share some rat stories...one of the side effects of rebuilding a house in a rat haven! My greatest fear when we began this project was that the open walls and floors would be an open invitation to every critter known to mankind...and it has certainly not hindered some of them from coming in.

The other night Steve and I were eating dinner after church, sitting on the couch watching a House episode. We had just finished, were talking, just kind of relaxing for a sec when we heard this funny squeak. It got my attention and I sat up. I sat still to listen for it again, and then he heard it. It occurred to both of us what it was and we sat up to look behind the couch. Right behind us (for God knows how long) was a baby rat caught in a sticky trap.

He looked so innocent and helpless. I really felt bad for him. They don't die instantly in a sticky trap, they are just stuck. We discovered through our other adventures that they like chocolate, hence, all the traps have chocolate on them. Watching him try to get loose, and cry because he couldn't, really grabbed my heart. If he wasn't a rat, and me not, I would have wanted to save him.

In my mind, I made a connection. Here he was, very young, lured into this trap by a piece of chocolate, and now he was doomed. Isn't that exactly what happens every day in the life of believers? Something is so tempting, calling us to go down a road we shouldn't be on, away from the safety of God's Word and presence. If we submit to the temptation then the trap has us. We are stuck in situations we can't get out of. We are trapped by the lure of that piece of chocolate. This baby rat could have found something to eat somewhere outside in his own habitat and still be alive, but he went out searching in an area full of danger, and he was caught. Day after day, moment after moment is full of parallel temptations for us. We want that piece of chocolate, and it is in a place of danger. Sometimes the trap leads to death and/or destruction. We realize that the moment we are trapped, but it is too late. Once we are stuck, we are stuck, and it is over.

Not any smarter than the rat, not any more able to discern the consequence before we are stuck. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world...all pass away, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever! (I John 2:16-17)

What to choose...taking a bite of the "chocolate" which leads to bondage and possibly death, or life?