We’ve all heard the old story: wild animal raised as pet, gentle and charming at first, sudden reversion to nature, owner injured or killed. Usually we skip the moral at the end and dismiss the whole as a fable.
A fable?
A fact! A tragic fact, that Doris Guay did not live to repent.
She and her husband “adopted” Jupiter, a rare white Bengal tiger, when he was only six days old. Carefully raised, hand-fed, Jupiter was a beautiful creature-all 400 pounds of him.
But with all that beauty-with an appearance of as beautiful a nature-Jupiter was still a tiger-not a nice little lap-kitty, but a tiger with a tiger’s nature and a tiger’s cravings. One day as Doris Guay was hand-feeding him some chicken, his tiger nature overcame all his loving care and training. Open-mouthed, he lunged at her throat. She died instantly.
Was it wise to adopt that beautiful “kitten”? Was it wise to go on for three years treating the fully grown and mature tiger like a beloved child? To think “someday he might have to live in a cage in a zoo-but not now-not now”?
Is it wise to continue “playing with fire,” indulging in forbidden pleasures and thinking, “This is beautiful, this is good, this can never hurt me. Someday maybe I’ll turn over a new leaf and reform, but not now—not now”?
Answer “NO” to both. When the tiger turns as he will-and has his victim by the throat, it is too late. Too late to be wise, too late to change anything.
The devil appears as “an angel of light” at first, and it is easy to follow his smooth, downward path in pursuit of sin, but at the last his true nature appears and he is shown to be our enemy, the devil-a roaring lion!
The Bible says that he walks about, “seeking whom he may devour.” The saddest thought is that it was all unnecessary. The baby tiger was so appealing, and the road to hell is so easy, but God says, “avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away” (Prov. 4:1515Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. (Proverbs 4:15)). The Lord Jesus Christ gave His life on the cross to open the door of escape for all (everyone!) who will believe and receive life-eternal life.
Why will you die?