Stop Falling for The Monkey Trap

thoughts on rice, coconuts, and idols of the heart

Say you have a monkey problem….

He’s a real nuisance. Picking fights with you, rummaging through your yard, aggressively hissing at your toddler, wrecking the self-esteem of your 80lb Bernese Mountain Dog.

What do you do?

Set the old monkey trap.

It’s simple, really.

Step one: Find a coconut, hallow it out, then chain it to the ground.

Step two: Carve a hole in the coconut that’s big enough for the monkey to stick his greedy hand in -- but wait! Make it small enough that once he grabs what’s inside, he can’t get it out.

What’s inside?

Well that’s our last step.

Step three: Place some gorgeous, succulent, irresistible rice on the inside.

Now sit back, relax, and watch what happens next.

Before you know it, the little monkey will waltz over to the coconut, stick his greedy hand in, grab a fist-full of rice, and to his surprise—and horror—find that he can’t get his hand back out. The hole isn’t big enough for a fist full of rice.

And voila. You’ve trapped your monkey. Now you can call animal control or the monkey police to take him away.

Problem solved.

I know what you’re thinking....

Why doesn’t our furry nemesis simply drop the rice and slide his hand back out? I’ll tell you why.

Because he has a value problem.

The monkey values the rice more than his freedom.

His intoxication with the little ball of grain blinds him from the simple reality that it’s keeping him from what he most deeply desires—freedom.

As simple as the solution is, he won’t let go.

His lust for rice blinds him from the trap he’s in. With his little fingers wrapped in the squishy warmth of rice, he can’t fathom letting the object of his desire go.

The monkey is crazy.

And so are we.

One of the Bible’s most consistent teachings is we’re no different than this monkey.

How often do we hold onto the things we desire, refusing to let them go? How often do we value created things more than the creator? How often do the little idols of our heart keep us from the deep joy of communion with God?

We reach out our hands for status, for approval, for objects, and refuse to let go. We crave the rice in the coconut instead of the freedom of life with God.

Let today be the day you let go.

Ask the Holy Spirit what is keeping your hand trapped like this monkey.

Ask for strength to let go.