One of my favorite TV shows growing up up was Scooby-Doo. I LOVED it. Fred, Daphne and Wilma were never shaken when there was a new mystery to solve and never once believed that any of the monsters were real–they just assumed there was a natural explanation–and there always was (Shaggy and Scooby always had to be convinced).
It always ended the same way: the bad guy caught and being hauled off to jail saying the “If it hadn’t been for those meddling kids, I would have gotten away with it.”
That show taught me many valuable life lessons:
1.Things aren’t always as they seem. We live in a unique time where anything and everything we could ever want to know about is at our fingertips. We all have become self acclaimed experts on any given subject simply because we googled it.
Time and time again–especially in recent days, I’ve witnessed well meaning folks share stories on social media. It gets shared again and again. But, what’s disappointing is that so few actually dig a little deeper to see if what was written is anything more than a rumor. We just can’t believe that anyone who has written something and published it on the internet would lie. Everyone knows that people never lie.
When Fred, Daphne, and Velma set out to solve a mystery–they didn’t take what they saw at face value–getting all stirred up. They looked for the logical explanation. How I wish that’s the way we approached things today. It might not always fit our personal narrative, but to quote my favorite fictional detective:
“When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
Sherlock Holmes
It’s important to seek the truth.
2. Bad guys always wear a disguise. The bad guys–the criminals who lie, cheat, steal, and do all sorts of bad things–don’t always look bad. Most often their disguise–is to look like a good guy.
It’s something I’ve had to teach my boys as they are growing up and we’ve had to have the “stranger danger” talk. People that want to do bad things don’t look dangerous at all. It would be nice if it was like on Scooby Do –where the bad guy wore some sort of scary costume.
So, if the bad guys actually look like good guys–how can you tell who the bad guys are? In the Bible it says to look for fruit of a person’s life (Mathew 7:16-20). Not who they say they are. But what they have actually done or are doing.
3. A 6′ foot long sandwich and some Scooby snacks can make everything ok. In most every episode of Scooby Do, Shaggy and Scooby come upon some sort of food buffet or take a break to munch on their never ending supply of Scooby snacks. Stress eating might not be the best solution from whatever it is that’s causing my angst (although, sometimes a tub of ice cream really seems to work), but I think it’s a good idea to unplug in some way, whether it’s going to see a movie (now that they are open–Praise God!), going for a walk in a beautiful place, playing a game with friends and family, having some quiet time and reading my Bible, listening to some music or whatever it is that lifts the weight of stress off my shoulders and brings a smile to my face.
There are always going to be bad things going on in this fallen world and you will never have to search very hard to find them. But, my favorite promise in the Bible is when Jesus said “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world”. (John 16: 33).
In other words: God wins.