GOOSEY IRONY

A Plot Hatched!

So from that day on they plotted to kill Him.

-John 11:53

Aesop's fable, The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg, is one of the most well-known moral tales in Western culture. The story is simple: a farmer and his wife own a goose that lays a golden egg every day. Consumed by greed, they decide to kill the goose, hoping to extract all the gold inside at once. But when they cut her open, they find no treasure — only a dead goose and the end of their golden eggs forever. The moral seems clear: don't destroy the source of your blessings out of impatience or greed.

But here lies the profound irony: Aesop's fables aim to teach wisdom and ethical living — yet they attempt to do so apart from submission to God! Proverbs 1:7 declares, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, wisdom, and instruction, but fools despise all this." In other words, all true knowledge, wisdom, and correction begins -NOT- with human cleverness or moral stories, but with humble reverence and obedience to the only true God, the God of Holy Trinity in Scripture.

Proverbs 3:5-6 calls us to "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." The irony, then, is that while Aesop's fable rightly warns against killing the goose that produces the golden eggs, the fables themselves attempt to extract moral lessons while rejecting the very source of all moral truth: God Himself! In this way, they mirror the same folly they warn against — trying to harvest the fruit of wisdom without honoring its source, God Almighty.

Proverbs 4:7 adds, "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding." But apart from the fear of the Lord, what kind of wisdom are we pursuing? James 3:15 warns that there is a kind of earthly, unspiritual, even demonic "wisdom" that stands in contrast to the wisdom from above, which is pure, peaceable, gentle, and full of mercy.

Finally, the Apostle Paul urges in 2 Corinthians 13:5, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" If upon testing and examination we find that we desire the blessings of God apart from submission, surrender, and total devotion to Christ Jesus, then we expose ourselves as fools, and our faith as counterfeit.

The tragic irony of Aesop's moral tales is that they try to acquire the golden eggs of wisdom (skillful living to honor God) and virtue while ignoring the true source of life and blessing — Christ Jesus. Many churchgoers today repeat this same folly in their pursuit of and adherence to the Health & Wealth Prosperity gospel, which is a false gospel. May we, in all our getting, get understanding, the kind that comes only through humble submission to Christ, the living WORD, who "became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30).

There is perhaps no greater irony in all of history than the religious leaders of Jesus' day believing they were doing the heavenly Father a service by calling for the crucifixion of His Son. The Pharisees and scribes saw themselves as guardians of God's law, yet in their pride and blindness, they violated that very law. They placed their traditions and the praise of men above God, effectively having other gods (Matthew 15:8-9). They clung to religious customs and idols of human authority, they bore false witness against Jesus (Matthew 26:59-60), and they committed murder (Acts 2:23)...

What they saw as a noble defense of truth was, in reality, the greatest rebellion against the Truth Himself. They were actually seeking to preserve their status in a synthetic religious system, but in doing so, they cut themselves off from the true source of life and salvation, just like the farmer and his wife who killed the goose that gave them golden eggs.

Let us take this as a sobering reminder: apart from humble submission and surrender to Christ, all our religious striving is empty and counterfeit. We must examine ourselves, test our hearts, and ensure that our devotion is not to selfish blessings, human traditions, or superficial appearances, but to Christ alone — the only true source of wisdom, righteousness, and everlasting life.

Christ Jesus is the Alpha & Omega. He is the greatest treasure. It's not the gifts as golden eggs, but the Giver and Sustainer of all things... our Creator, God, and King. Amen.

Blessings & love,

Kevin M. Kelley

Pastor

BigIslandChristianChurch.com