12 September 2010
Everything Is Not As It Appears
09/16/10 08:54 PM Filed in: From the Pastor
My messages of late have been about genuineness. About things that are real and things that appear to be real but are not. We’ve discussed genuine faith, genuine love, genuine works and for the past several weeks, a genuine church. The following story is a humorous attempt that illustrates how things are not always the way they appear.
It seems a particular zoo found itself in a difficult situation. The main attraction to the zoo was their large number of gorillas. These gorillas were in separate, large fenced in areas and one of the favorite crowd-pleasing gorillas had died. The zoo officials were having difficulty getting a replacement and the crowds were beginning to get smaller and smaller. So in desperation, an advertisement was placed in the local newspaper for someone to work at the zoo. When a particular man responded to what he read he was told that he was perfect for the job but that he must put on a gorilla suit, be placed in a separate and safe open cage designed just for him and his job responsibilities were precise; he simply needed to act like a gorilla.
He accepted the position and at first he was a little hesitant but he observed how the gorillas in the other areas were acting so he grew in confidence and the crowds began to come back. In fact he was so good that he became one of the main attractions. Then one morning as he came to work he decided to climb one of the trees in his area and swing from one of the ropes. So back and forth he went over and over again and the crowds really loved it. But he got so good and so over confident that one day he swung so far that when he let go of the rope he landed in the large cage next to his where another gorilla lived.
At first he thought everything was going to be fine, all he needed to do was continue to act like a gorilla. Se he beat his chest and let out a huge gorilla like roar. And the other gorilla did the same. So he moved forward in the cage hoping to intimidate the other gorilla. And the other gorilla came even closer. So eventually they were nearly nose to nose and the man in the gorilla suit began to think of the utter foolishness of what he was doing, so he began to whimper a little and was about ready to scream out for help in his loud human voice when all of a sudden the other gorilla came real close and the man heard the words, “Shut up stupid or you’ll get us both fired!”
It seems a particular zoo found itself in a difficult situation. The main attraction to the zoo was their large number of gorillas. These gorillas were in separate, large fenced in areas and one of the favorite crowd-pleasing gorillas had died. The zoo officials were having difficulty getting a replacement and the crowds were beginning to get smaller and smaller. So in desperation, an advertisement was placed in the local newspaper for someone to work at the zoo. When a particular man responded to what he read he was told that he was perfect for the job but that he must put on a gorilla suit, be placed in a separate and safe open cage designed just for him and his job responsibilities were precise; he simply needed to act like a gorilla.
He accepted the position and at first he was a little hesitant but he observed how the gorillas in the other areas were acting so he grew in confidence and the crowds began to come back. In fact he was so good that he became one of the main attractions. Then one morning as he came to work he decided to climb one of the trees in his area and swing from one of the ropes. So back and forth he went over and over again and the crowds really loved it. But he got so good and so over confident that one day he swung so far that when he let go of the rope he landed in the large cage next to his where another gorilla lived.
At first he thought everything was going to be fine, all he needed to do was continue to act like a gorilla. Se he beat his chest and let out a huge gorilla like roar. And the other gorilla did the same. So he moved forward in the cage hoping to intimidate the other gorilla. And the other gorilla came even closer. So eventually they were nearly nose to nose and the man in the gorilla suit began to think of the utter foolishness of what he was doing, so he began to whimper a little and was about ready to scream out for help in his loud human voice when all of a sudden the other gorilla came real close and the man heard the words, “Shut up stupid or you’ll get us both fired!”