Devotionals

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I like Nursery Rhymes. Even if I had never had children, I think I would still like Nursery Rhymes. And while I’m not saying that it is my calling in life to do a deeply philosophical or psychological study of the tales and tunes with which we bring up our children (I’m not lacking after all in things to do), I have found that if you look deep enough, there are some pretty nifty pearls hidden in some of the Nursery Rhymes we sing and tell to our children.

Some are indisputably obvious. Little Boy Blue, for example, shirks his work and the livestock successfully escape their incarcerations and begin their reign of terror. Just where is Blue Boy? Why isn’t he sounding the alarm? Humph! I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he has to turn in his horn!

On the other hand, Little Bo Peep learns to lighten up a bit (or least we hope so) when she fails to find her missing sheep. Don’t worry, Bo! They know the way home. Just leave the light on for them!

Of course, some of the rhymes are more complicated and satirical. To get the beauties buried in those, you’ve got to go a lot deeper!

Contrary Mary, for example, must be someone who has her own ideas about doing things and doesn’t have an ear for the wisdom and advice of others. Or maybe she’s in management for a major corporation and has some pretty impressive skills in delegation and administration. But somehow, I don’t get the feeling that the “pretty maids all in a row” have yet formed an effective labor union.

Then there’s Old King Cole. A merry old soul perhaps, but he seems to be the object of some subtle scorn. After all, you’re not heroic if all for which you are remembered is that you called for your pipe, your bowl and a violin trio.

While we all are, of course, delighted that each fiddler has a “very fine fiddle” and that he can handle the instrument well, it doesn’t really make us feel that the good old king is in touch with the world around him. The gentle fun in this favorite children’s verse was perhaps satirizing a king who was notably disconnected from the needs of those for whom he was responsible.

This fine old fellow is perhaps a looking glass reflection of many Christians today. Here we are, in the land of plenty and so many of us are just as enamored with our “pipes,” “bowls,” and “fiddlers three” as was Old King Cole.

Selfish habits and selfish attitudes are the pipes that are smoked today. There is so much a “fog of self” enveloping so many, it’s hard for others to see Christ clearly. And too often the fumes of selfishness and self-righteousness are so thick that they choke out spiritual life and fruitfulness.

And aren’t many of us busy with calling for our bowls, driven as we are by our physical impulses? It is so easy for God’s people to fall into the alluring pit of self-indulgence that too much of Christianity today is characterized by it. Unfortunately, the more our passion for comfort and ease take hold of us, the less we are passionate for serving and knowing Him. “Give us our creature comforts!” we’ll cry out. Often our attitudes proclaim, “Don’t withhold from me any pleasurable experience that life has to offer!”

And then there are the “fiddlers three!” Cole’s rascally fiddlers are so talented and so eager to make their fortune entertaining the old king and the king so eager to be entertained, the rhyme concludes with everyone being very merry. I suspect that those who are “merry” are those who’ve been the beneficiaries of the excesses of the king. Those outside the walls of the king’s court, though citizens of his kingdom, are not privy to the fun inside.

The “fiddlers” we that we could say that we face today as Christians are not necessarily evil in of themselves. However, let us be careful to not confuse following Christ with being entertained. Let us avoid seeing church as a venue for entertainment, but instead seek the One Who died that our sins might be forgiven and through Whom we have Abundant Life (see John 10:10).

If your interest in church or in ministry can be boiled down in its essence to wanting to be entertained, then, my friend, you have missed the great point in being called by God to become His child. Do you want more of God in your life? Let go of all this stuff, get outside the “castle walls” of your comfort zone and get out there with God in the front lines of changing lives.

Perhaps you are not a Christian and your life is only about serving yourself and your passions. Ironically, the king and his court could not be satisfied forever with the overflow of extravagances they enjoyed. Sooner or later, they would have grown bored and their fineries would lose their luster. Their hearts would have finally cried out, “Is this all there is? Is there no higher purpose to life?”

Perhaps if you find yourself here, you’ll now turn to Jesus and let Him give you a new tune to hum in your heart as you allow Him to be Lord and Savior of your life!

“…We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, Who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word” (2Thessalonians 2:13-17 ESV).

Copyright © Thom Mollohan.

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