The Toy Story 3 Comparison – Proverbious – Day 38 – Proverbs 7:24-27

Proverbious | David Lindner

I remember the first time I watched Toy Story. Everyone was talking about it. We were all amazed at how real the animation looked. There was so much detail, pieces of fuzz here and there and scuff marks on the door. As you can imagine, our kids love the movies as well. All three of them. Their stories are all so well thought out, and the work is so well done it would be hard not to love them.

I was a little late getting to see Toy Story 3. If you haven’t watched it you, you should. It evokes emotions in you that you’d never expect to come out while watching a kids movie about toys. *Spoiler Alert* and I mean it, this is a critical part of the story, so if you don’t want me to ruin it – wait! At the end of the movie the toys find them selves trying to escape a situation they thought would end up being better for them than living in Andy’s attic. Since the situation was unbearable for them, they plotted a big escape. The problem was, their escape ended at a dumpster. With another conflict at the dumpster with the powers of the daycare, they toys find themselves in the garbage truck on their way to the dump. They try to escape, but get dumped. Then they get sorted, barely escape getting shredded, and end up on a conveyor belt headed to the incinerator. They run with all their might to avoid getting dumped into the funnel feeding into the fire, but with one final betrayal, they find themselves sliding down toward the flames. Try as they may, they can’t get out. So they link arms and give in to their final fate of flames. At the last minute, they find their savior in the “the claw” and the Little Green Men running the controls. They decide that Andy’s closet wouldn’t be so bad after all.

It’s so easy in life to think the grass is greener on the other side. It’s so easy to observe something from the outside and think that would be so much better than what you have. We get bored with the same ole, same ole and equate our boredom with ruin. So we start looking outside our current circumstances to find something better. How many times have you ventured out on one of those roads to find that what you had was so much better than what you thought you wanted?

Proverbs 7:24-27

So now, sons, listen to me,
and pay attention to the words I speak.
Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways—
do not wander into her pathways;
for she has brought down many fatally wounded,
and all those she has slain are many.
Her house is the way to the grave,
going down to the chambers of death.

Do not allow yourself to be drawn in by the seductress. If you are married, there is absolutely no reason to consider her. If you are single, you must not allow your desire for companionship to be something that drives you to think that sin would be better than the loneliness you now face. If you are a successful business person, do not allow your greed to drive you to make immoral decisions that benefit your bank account. Do not betray your savior for momentary pleasure – whatever that may be.

Your discontentment with your current situation can be very dangerous. And as we learned from the toys, the unknown you think you desire can mean the end. Sometimes there will be “The Claw” to save you, but not always and not often. Probably more often than not, your desire will bring you down to the grave. So listen to the words of the wiseman – do not let your heart turn aside to her ways. Stop the desire before it gets to your heart and remind yourself how great you have it. Not perfect, but still pretty great.