The Wolf and the Rabbit's Hat

The wolf shouted into the forest: ” Hey, rabbit! Come here, I want to ask you something.”

The rabbit trembled but came close.

“Give me a cigarette,” growled the wolf.

“I don’t smoke so I don’t have any.”

“What? I don’t care if you smoke or not, you’re supposed to have a cigarette for me!” and without another word, he beat the poor rabbit.

The next day the wolf was itching for more harm: “Rabbit! Where’s my cigarette?” This time, the rabbit had thought ahead. “Here it is!” said the rabbit quickly, handing it over. The wolf grabbed it, sniffed, and then barked: “What cheap brand is this?” And he beat the rabbit again.

On the third day, the wolf wasn’t interested in cigarettes at all. He just wanted an excuse.

“Rabbit! Come here with that silly hat you wear sometimes!” The rabbit, now wiser, muttered to himself: “If I wear the hat, he’ll beat me for looking proud. If I don’t wear the hat, he’ll beat me for being careless. No matter what I do, the wolf only wants one thing: to beat me.”

- The Bible is clear that the Sabbath was never changed (Ex. 20:8–11; Mat. 24:20; Acts 13:42–44) and critics can’t prove otherwise.

- The dead are asleep, awaiting the resurrection (Eccl 9:5–6; 1 Thes. 4:16), and church critics can’t overturn Scripture.

- The church is proclaiming the second coming of Jesus visible, literal, and final, not a secret rapture (Acts 1:11; Rev. 1:7; Mat. 24:27) and church critics run out of arguments.

But the “wolf” goes after the rabbit anyway. “Your problem is this Ellen White stuff.” Now let’s be clear: Ellen White herself never claimed to replace the Bible, but “the lesser light” pointing to the Bible. And yet, the critics always come back to her. Why? Because if they can’t dismantle the Sabbath, the state of the dead, or the Sanctuary, then the only card left to play is to shout, “But Ellen White!”

Revelation 12:17 “The dragon/wolf… went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

That’s the wolf-vs-rabbit story in prophecy. We are not called to appease the wolf or any other savage beast. 

We are called to follow the Lamb.

The Lark Bargain

Once upon a time there was a skylark who sang so sweetly that people would stop in their tracks just to listen. One day a man approached the bird with an unusual proposal: “I’ll give you a fat worm if you give me one of your feathers.

”The skylark thought, “I have hundreds of feathers. Surely one won’t matter.” He plucked a feather, enjoyed the worm, and flew away.

The next day the man returned with the same offer. The skylark hesitated just for a moment but again reasoned, “One more feather won’t make a difference.” And so, it went. Day after day, worm after worm, feather after feather.

For a while the skylark seemed fine. He still had plenty of feathers, still could sing, still could fly. But slowly, almost without noticing, his wings grew bare and ragged. One morning, when a hawk appeared in the sky, the skylark tried to take off, but he couldn’t. He had traded away the very feathers that gave him freedom.

That story may sound kind of quaint, but it carries a sharp edge of truth. Life is full of bargains. Most of them don’t come as one dramatic choice but as a series of small trades. “Just this once.” “It won’t really matter.” “I can always bounce back.” But compromises add up. And one day, like the skylark, a person discovers that what they gave away piece by piece was their ability to soar.

Jesus asked a haunting question in Matthew 16:26: “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” It’s the skylark’s bargain in different words. What use is a fat worm if you’ve lost your wings? What use is a pocketful of gains if you’ve traded away your soul?

The skylark reminds us that the small bargains matter. Guard your feathers. Guard your integrity, your faith, your hope. Don’t let them be plucked away one by one by easy trades.

This week, before you make a decision, ask yourself: “Am I trading the skies/Heaven for a worm?” And choose instead to keep your wings strong, your heart light, and your eyes on the skies.

(adapted after The Skylark’s Bargain by G.H.Carnley)