The Tale of Two Frogs
January 2021
“But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren.” James 1:15-16
Freddy and Freida were a couple of frogs who lived in a beautiful farm pond. They splashed, and they swam, and they chased bugs and they sang their little froggy song, “Rivet! Rivet!” The frog life was a wonderful life.
Soon, the rainy spring became a hot, dry summer. It got so hot, and so dry, that the old farm pond dried up, and there was no place for them to splash and play. “Boy, this is awful,” said Freddy.
“You can say that again!” said Freida. “We have to find some water.”
“I know just where to go to find it,” said Freddy. “Follow me.”
Now there was a sly, old fox who loved to eat little frogs. He watched the little frogs in the pond every day, just licking his chops. He had frog soup on his mind. The old fox lived next to a well. He knew the frogs had no water, because their pond had dried up. Every day, he filled a pan with water and set it on the blazing fire. While he boiled that water, he tried to think of a plan to catch a frog for his soup. The more he thought, the hungrier he felt.
Freida hopped along behind Freddy until she caught sight of fox’s boiling water pot. “No way, Jose,” Freida said. “If you’re thinking what I’m thinking you’re thinking, just forget it!”
“What do you mean?” asked Freddy.
“That fox isn’t trying to be friendly, you know. That pan of water is a frog soup bowl.”
“I guess you’re right,” said Freddy. “Getting into hot water could be dangerous!”
Freddy and Freida were pretty smart ... for frogs, that is. They both knew enough not to jump into hot water, or they’d get burned! Most people are almost as smart as frogs. They know enough not to do anything really bad or dangerous, and that’s pretty smart. But listen what happened to Freddy and Freida next.
The long, dry summer dragged on and on. There was still no rain and no water in the pond. One day, Freddy couldn’t stand it any longer. “I know that old fox has water,” he said. “And I’ll get some of his water if it kills me.”
“It just might,” thought Freida, as she watched him hop away.
So over the hill and into the woods he hopped, very, very quietly. From the top of the hill, he could see the well. He could see the pan of water. But something was different. There was no fire under the pan, the water wasn’t boiling and there was no fox anywhere to be seen, either. “Now’s my chance,” said Freddy. “This is great!”
He hopped down the hill as fast as he could, straight over to the pan of water. He jumped up onto a log, and looked down into the pan. The water looked so cool, so refreshing, so inviting, and SO good.
He tested the water with his little froggy toe and it felt just as good as it looked, so he jumped right in. He just lay down in the cool water, closed his eyes, and took a long, refreshing nap.
Freddy didn’t know that the fox had been watching him the whole time from his secret hiding place. “Frog soup for supper!” he snarled. “It’s about time.”
The old fox sneaked over to Freddy, ever so quietly. He struck a match and lit a small fire right under the pan of water. Slowly the fox added more sticks to the fire, so that the blaze grew and grew. The water grew warmer, and warmer, and warmer. But the snoozing Freddy didn’t even notice. He was so comfortable and relaxed, he didn’t realize that the water was beginning to get hot! He didn’t even wake up.
Soon the water began to boil. Finally Freddy woke up, and realized that he was hot, so he tried to leap out of the pan. Usually Freddy could leap very high, but the heat had made his muscles so weak that he couldn’t even jump an inch. The mean old fox already had his supper table set, and the smell of frog soup filled the air.
Sin is just like that pan of water. Sometimes, it doesn’t seem so bad. In fact, it can even look good. The devil doesn’t tempt us to do the worst things. Instead, he gets us to do something that we think is not too bad, and then it gets worse little by little, so slowly that we don’t even realize what’s happening. It’s awfully easy to get comfortable in it, but once you relax, the devil turns up the heat. You won’t even notice the danger of sin because you got used to it little by little.
God says I should, “Set no wicked thing before mine eyes,” like TV shows that have cursing and swearing and teach us how to do things that are wrong. If I jump in by watching ones that I don’t think are quite as bad as the others, pretty soon those won’t seem so bad anymore. I’ll get used to them. Then I’ll see something worse, and it won’t seem so bad, either. Down deeper and deeper into sin I’ll go and just like Freddy, I won’t even see the danger coming until I no longer have the strength to jump out.
Don’t let yourself get use to any kind of sin, or you will soon find yourself in hot water!
Freddy and Freida were a couple of frogs who lived in a beautiful farm pond. They splashed, and they swam, and they chased bugs and they sang their little froggy song, “Rivet! Rivet!” The frog life was a wonderful life.
Soon, the rainy spring became a hot, dry summer. It got so hot, and so dry, that the old farm pond dried up, and there was no place for them to splash and play. “Boy, this is awful,” said Freddy.
“You can say that again!” said Freida. “We have to find some water.”
“I know just where to go to find it,” said Freddy. “Follow me.”
Now there was a sly, old fox who loved to eat little frogs. He watched the little frogs in the pond every day, just licking his chops. He had frog soup on his mind. The old fox lived next to a well. He knew the frogs had no water, because their pond had dried up. Every day, he filled a pan with water and set it on the blazing fire. While he boiled that water, he tried to think of a plan to catch a frog for his soup. The more he thought, the hungrier he felt.
Freida hopped along behind Freddy until she caught sight of fox’s boiling water pot. “No way, Jose,” Freida said. “If you’re thinking what I’m thinking you’re thinking, just forget it!”
“What do you mean?” asked Freddy.
“That fox isn’t trying to be friendly, you know. That pan of water is a frog soup bowl.”
“I guess you’re right,” said Freddy. “Getting into hot water could be dangerous!”
Freddy and Freida were pretty smart ... for frogs, that is. They both knew enough not to jump into hot water, or they’d get burned! Most people are almost as smart as frogs. They know enough not to do anything really bad or dangerous, and that’s pretty smart. But listen what happened to Freddy and Freida next.
The long, dry summer dragged on and on. There was still no rain and no water in the pond. One day, Freddy couldn’t stand it any longer. “I know that old fox has water,” he said. “And I’ll get some of his water if it kills me.”
“It just might,” thought Freida, as she watched him hop away.
So over the hill and into the woods he hopped, very, very quietly. From the top of the hill, he could see the well. He could see the pan of water. But something was different. There was no fire under the pan, the water wasn’t boiling and there was no fox anywhere to be seen, either. “Now’s my chance,” said Freddy. “This is great!”
He hopped down the hill as fast as he could, straight over to the pan of water. He jumped up onto a log, and looked down into the pan. The water looked so cool, so refreshing, so inviting, and SO good.
He tested the water with his little froggy toe and it felt just as good as it looked, so he jumped right in. He just lay down in the cool water, closed his eyes, and took a long, refreshing nap.
Freddy didn’t know that the fox had been watching him the whole time from his secret hiding place. “Frog soup for supper!” he snarled. “It’s about time.”
The old fox sneaked over to Freddy, ever so quietly. He struck a match and lit a small fire right under the pan of water. Slowly the fox added more sticks to the fire, so that the blaze grew and grew. The water grew warmer, and warmer, and warmer. But the snoozing Freddy didn’t even notice. He was so comfortable and relaxed, he didn’t realize that the water was beginning to get hot! He didn’t even wake up.
Soon the water began to boil. Finally Freddy woke up, and realized that he was hot, so he tried to leap out of the pan. Usually Freddy could leap very high, but the heat had made his muscles so weak that he couldn’t even jump an inch. The mean old fox already had his supper table set, and the smell of frog soup filled the air.
Sin is just like that pan of water. Sometimes, it doesn’t seem so bad. In fact, it can even look good. The devil doesn’t tempt us to do the worst things. Instead, he gets us to do something that we think is not too bad, and then it gets worse little by little, so slowly that we don’t even realize what’s happening. It’s awfully easy to get comfortable in it, but once you relax, the devil turns up the heat. You won’t even notice the danger of sin because you got used to it little by little.
God says I should, “Set no wicked thing before mine eyes,” like TV shows that have cursing and swearing and teach us how to do things that are wrong. If I jump in by watching ones that I don’t think are quite as bad as the others, pretty soon those won’t seem so bad anymore. I’ll get used to them. Then I’ll see something worse, and it won’t seem so bad, either. Down deeper and deeper into sin I’ll go and just like Freddy, I won’t even see the danger coming until I no longer have the strength to jump out.
Don’t let yourself get use to any kind of sin, or you will soon find yourself in hot water!
