THE PUPPET SHOW

By Mike Moore, 27th November 2015

Right now Germany is accepting thousands of refugees from Muslim countries who are seeking political asylum in Germany. Even when we were still living there twenty years ago, many foreigners came to Germany to find jobs. Most of them were Muslims. During those times Cheryl and I started a Christian coffee house in the inner city. Almost all of the people who came were teens, but eventually young children attended too. After all, we gave away free cookies and other snacks, too. Many came from Muslim families who resided in the neighborhood. We saw it as an opportunity to reach these young people for Christ, even though many could not speak either German or English well. We discovered an effective way to reach them by entertaining them with a simple puppet theater.

About this same time, the Muppet Show was extremely popular in the USA, but had just barely reached Germany. I began using many of the characters from the Sesame Street show for children. There was “Kermit” the frog who became my little German preacher, “Cookie monster” who selfishly only thought about how to get something to eat, and Grouch who was very cynical, questioning everything and everyone. He even wondered if God was at all interested in him and his life. I developed my own stories and object lessons, always using some sort of a Biblical background.

Sometimes, by mistake, I would use the wrong voice for a character. It was then when the children shouted, “No Mike, you’re using the wrong voice.” “Oh, so sorry,” the puppet would reply, “I just swallowed a bug; it made my voice change,” and all the children would laugh.

As time went along we discovered that a puppet can say almost anything, and the listener would not feel offended. For instance, a puppet could tell a chubby kid, “You like to eat, don’t you?” The child would answer, “I sure do!” and everyone would laugh.

Just as I played different characters in the puppet show, all of us play different characters in real life, too. Let me explain. We can be that nice, pleasant person when we are with friends we like and turn into “Grouch” when we’re at home with our family. We can act like a nice Christian at church and turn into a “big mouth” at work or at school. Just like the children reminded me, “Mike, you’re using the wrong voice,” so our attitude can change, depending on our surrounding. Sometimes even our voice changes from a screaming one to a soft and gentle one.

It’s all very confusing! Who are we really? Who do we really want to be? It’s not always easy to know that; after all, to be quite honest, we want to be liked by everyone. Then, when we are by ourselves, we ask, “Why did I act that way or just why did I chose to say that?”

People sometimes say, “It’s the devil that made me do it!” Excuse my directness, but that is nonsense! I, Mike, make the decision what comes out of my mouth! It’s the same with you. That’s what Deuteronomy 30:14 says:

“I (God) have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life that both you and your children may live.”

This verse clearly says that WE choose what comes out of our mouth: life or death and blessing or cursing. “Therefore choose life,” God reminds us. In life we make choices. We can decide which path we want to take, or using the puppet show example, which character we want to play. Consider the following expressions that our Lord wants to tell us:

1. I am a citizen of heaven. “I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-discipline (2. Timothy 1:7).”
2. I will make right decisions. “He has showered kindness on me, along with all wisdom and understanding (Ephesians 1:8)
3. I am conformed to Christ’s character. “For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers (Romans 8:29).”
4. I am filled with the Holy Spirit if I have asked Him. “And because I am God’s child, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, ‘Abba, Father’ (Galatians 4:6).”

God is not finished with us yet! We are a work in progress. The more time we spend with Him, the more His character will dwell in us. More and more we leave the different personality traits behind us. We won’t be constantly changing and portraying different character traits like I did in my puppet show, but we can be assured that the indwelling of God’s Spirit gives me confidence and inner security of who I really am. I am truly a child of the King!

“When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.” (Billy Graham)

“We never grow closer to God when we just live life. It takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness.” (Francis Chan)