Catching Oneself

Indian hunters have devised a clever way of catching rhesus monkeys: They don't catch them at all—but they make sure they do it themselves!

First, a narrow box is built in which a banana is placed. A small opening is made into which the monkey's hand just fits. The monkey now approaches and immediately reaches through the hole to grab the bait. The problem is: his hand, which is clenched into a fist, is stuck! Even when the hunters come towards him, he continues to greedily hold on to his prey instead of simply letting go and running away. Hunting is an easy game—the monkey has caught itself.

Isn't that often like us humans, too? Because we love our own lives so much without God, we carelessly ignore the price we pay for it. What good is it for the monkey if he wins the banana but loses his life? Jesus once similarly said about us: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole worldThe word is used with different meanings. It can mean the whole of humanity (Gen 41:57) or the created world (Rom 1:20), but also a moral system that is opposed... More, and loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)

This refers to unbelievers—who put the eternal salvationSalvation is part of God's plan of saving people. Those who are in danger and cannot help themselves need salvation. We owe our salvation to our Savior, who went to... More of their souls at risk—but may also carefully be applied to believers as well: they, too, can get their priorities so wrong that they practically “give away” their lives and arrive in heaven empty-handed.

The banana was more important to the monkey than his life—how is it with us?