The Allure of an Elephant Ear

Every 4th of July, the little town I grew up near had a community celebration. Like other small town celebrations, they had the typical parade, tractor pulls, and fireworks. But they also had something that my parents forbid us to attend—it was the carnival. For an entire week, in the center of town, the “carnies,” as my dad called them, set up shop. And, it was a setting that no 12 year old boy could resist. It came with rides, the intoxicating smell of fried elephant ears, and games that offered the biggest stuffed animals the world had ever seen—if you were skilled enough to win.

I was drawn to the lights, the smell, and the challenge like a mouse to a big piece of cheese; but my parents saw the trap the cheese sat on. Every year, I asked to go. Every year, they gave the same answers and explanations. “No! It’s a rip off.” But, the shiny lights and aroma of fried, doughy, sugary treats was all too alluring.

So, I hatched a plan. My parents made the horrible mistake of leaving me home alone and telling me how long they’d be gone. I called my neighbor, Gil, and we discussed our plans. We knew we had six hours to get into town, have our fun, and get back. We’d have to ride our bikes—an hour ride there, an hour ride home, which left four hours of fun. We stuffed our pockets with our lawn mowing money and headed to town.

Our plan worked perfectly! We rode the rides. We feasted on greasy treats. We played the games and, yes, I won a huge panda bear. When the money was gone, we decided to head home. And, that’s when our brilliant plan was altered. It started to rain and it rained hard. Here I was riding my bike home in thunderstorm with a soaking wet Panda bear tied to my back. Needless to say, we arrived home a dirty, soaking mess. Gil peddled on to his house, leaving me to figure out how to cover my tracks. I had a couple of problems that I needed to handle before my parents returned home. What would I do with my wet clothes? What would I do with this Panda bear? Both, if discovered, would raise suspicions. Pressured for time, I chose to throw all my clothes in the dryer. I took the Panda bear, squeezed out as much water as I could, threw it in a garbage bag and stuffed it in a closet. My cover up was working beautifully until the sound of the family car disrupted my plan. They were home early. Way too early! I shut off the dryer, ran to the closet to stuff that stupid Panda deeper, and then raced to my room to get some dry clothes. My cover up would work as long as my mom didn’t need to use the dryer that evening. I could retrieve my wet clothes later.

I remained remarkably cool and calm that evening knowing full well that a look into the dryer or closet would expose my folly. I lied my way through dinner when questions about my day’s activities came up. I withdrew to my room for most of evening, trying to avoid any more conversation that may raise suspicions. I even went to bed early hoping that in the morning I could erase all evidence of my deception. I fell asleep.

A knock on my door woke me. It was my dad and he asked that I get up and come into the living room. There in the room was a basket of dirty, wet clothes and that stupid Panda bear. “Would you like to tell us the truth about what you really did today?” dad asked intently. I broke. The pressure to maintain my rouse was too great. I confessed fully. I was punished (for lying, not for going to the carnival). My parents prayed with me and I went to bed left emotionally exhausted because of my deceitful choices.

As I reflect on this story, I think some important things were spiritually formed in me that day. I think this was the first time I was faced with some universal truths about temptation and sin. Here’s what I learned.

• I am drawn to shiny, sweet smelling things in this world.
• There’s something attractive about things that are forbidden.
• Lying and covering up sin is exhausting and never really works.
• A stuffed Panda bear is not worth $25 of lawn mowing money.

This week, read the story of David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11. Reflect on David’s choices, his cover up and the final outcome. Then, write your own story. Where have you learned these hard truths? Next week, we’ll look at God’s response and David’s restoration.