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| The Great Pumpkin shows us 4 ways to protect our hearts from deception |
by Barbara Latta
Poor Linus. Every year he sits shivering in the cold waiting for the Great Pumpkin.
At Christmas,
Linus has some great wisdom. When asked what Christmas was all about, he recited
the scriptures from the book of Luke. But when it came to Halloween, his grasp
of the truth was misdirected.
What can this adorable cartoon character show us about ourselves? We can learn how easy it is to be deceived into believing a lie.
All Linus’
friends tried to convince him there was no Great Pumpkin. But Linus was
determined to live by this concoction of his own imagination.
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown TV show can show us 4 ways to protect our hearts from deception.
1. No matter what we hear or where the words come from, we are instructed to look for evidence of truth. Linus believed a fable he had heard instead of investigating the source of the story.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God; every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. (1 John 4:1-2 NKJV)
2. We shouldn’t be influenced by another person’s opinion simply because we love them. Poor Sally’s crush on Linus drove her to spend several cold hours hiding in the pumpkin vines waiting for the manifestation of something that wasn’t real.
Do not be
deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits. Awake to righteousness, and do not
sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame. (1 Corinthians 15:33-34)
Do not be
unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has
righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14)
3. We should keep a sensitive heart and be
willing to let the Word of God illuminate us.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm
19:105)
Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of
life. (Proverbs 4:23)
4. We shouldn’t take offense against those
who try to tell us the truth. Linus’s sister, Lucy, acted tough against her
brother at times, but when he was in trouble she came to his rescue. Linus
allowed Lucy to take him out of the cold and put him to bed. He partook of the
candy she collected for him.
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and
beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;
bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint
against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do (Colossians 3:12-13).
Judge not,
and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven. (Luke
6:37)
We can perceive
a lot from Linus’ travail waiting for the non-existent Great Pumpkin. I don’t
think the big, orange orb will show up this year either. But if Linus didn’t learn
his lesson, hopefully we can.
Join the conversation
and share your thoughts.
TWEETABLES
The GreatPumpkin Shows Us 4 Ways to Protect Our Hearts From Deception
What a great message! :-) Have a blessed weekend!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Melissa. I hope you have a blessed weekend also!
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ReplyDeleteHow exciting! Thank you!
DeleteSo much to appreciate about this post Ms. Barbara. Something you reminded me of is that we can often be deceived by those we love and trust; sometimes quite innocently. The reminder is the importance of honing our discernment skills and seeking truth in God's word. There's been times in my life when I've blindly accepted instruction or counsel from someone I trusted, only to learn later the info was faulty. In some cases, the person who passed that info onto me did not realize it was faulty, but believed it. This is where the gift of discernment comes in. If it doesn't feel or "smell" right, then seek external validation of the information. Great post ma'am.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, J.D. We need to use discernment in all situations because, as humans, even those we love can be misguided at times and pass on the wrong counsel. Thanks for sharing. Blessings!
DeleteLike J.D., I've been guilty of blindly listening to others who loved me because I knew they would never deliberately hurt me. Thankfully, we mature and grow in wisdom and turn to God and ask for discernment. I enjoyed this post about this favorite classic!
DeleteI have always loved the Peanuts characters, both the books and the TV shows. Charles Shultz was so gifted as an author and creator of touching stories. I always felt sad for Linus in The Great Pumpkin story. I love the way you excerpted lessons from this timeless story to share with us. Thanks for a smile and an inspiring message.
ReplyDeleteKatherine, I always feel bad for Linus too. Most of the time it is Charlie Brown getting the end of the stick, but Linus fell for the lie this time. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Blessings!
DeleteI love when children's stories have lessons for us as adults. Charles Shultz and Dr. Seuss had plenty of those if we'll pay close enough attention. The next time I watch The Great Pumpkin it will be with fresh insight. Thanks for sharing those parallels!
ReplyDeleteLeigh, I think we can learn more from the children's stories than we can from other movies and books sometimes. Those two authors had great wisdom we are still reaping benefits from. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Blessings!
DeleteBarbara, you shared rich wisdom from a cartoon and led us into the truth of the Word. We can be so easily deceived without realizing it. Storing God's Word in our hearts helps us guard against that. Thank you for a beneficial post, rich with Scripture.
ReplyDeleteSimple methods can sometimes wake us up, can't they? The Peanuts characters gave us so many lessons in their multitude of cartoons. It is important to store God's Word in our hearts to guard against deception. Thanks, Jeannie, for sharing your thoughts. Blessings!
DeleteBarbara, I love the lessons you've gleaned from this sweet show. I always feel so badly for Linus and appreciate the way his sharp-tongued sister cares for him.
ReplyDeleteWhile children can be excused for their childish ways, I pray I'll be more discerning in these challenging times.
Blessings,
Tammy
Tammy, I know how you feel about poor Linus. I feel bad for him too and for Charlie Brown's feelings of failure. These sweet kids do teach us a lot about life. I'm thankful for creative people like Charles Schultz who had the wisdom to give us these lessons through such simple means. Thanks for sharing. Blessings!
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