The Gospel According to Once Upon a Time
#10 – The Temptation to Live Without Strings
1 Corinthians 10:12-13 and James 1:12-16 (NLT)
By John Gill ~ September 8, 2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51x532yW1lY

Through the end of the words below

“When you get in trouble and you don't know right from wrong;

Give a little whistle! Give a little whistle!

When you meet temptation, and the urge is very strong;

Give a little whistle! Give a little whistle!

Not just a little squeak; pucker up and below.

And if your whistles weak; yell, “jiminy cricket.”

Take the straight and narrow path, and if you start to slide;

Give a little whistle! Give a little whistle!

And always let your conscience be your guide.”

This morning, as we continue our series on, “The Gospel According to Once Upon a Time,” we are turning our attention to one of the most beloved stories of all time, “Pinocchio.” 1 Over the past 84 years, generation after generation have enjoyed the classic Disney version of this timeless tale of a toy maker and his little puppet. It's the story of a lonely old toymaker named “Geppetto,” and his longing for a son.

One day he makes a marionette puppet, and names him, “Pinocchio.” And, “wishing upon a star,” he asks that Pinocchio might become a real boy. Well, as you may remember, the Blue Fairy hears Geppetto’s request and magically gives Pinocchio life – (actually, more like animation). His puppet strings fall off and Pinocchio can move and talk on his own.

Pinocchio asks, “Am I a real boy?” “No,” the fairy says, “but you might be one day - if you can prove yourself brave, trustworthy, and unselfish.” And to help Pinocchio resist temptation, the fairy assigns him a conscience - a cricket named “Jiminy.”

When Geppetto realizes that Pinocchio is alive, he is ecstatic. The next morning, he sends Pinocchio off to the village school - but Pinocchio never gets there. On his way, he meets up with a sly con artist - a fox named “Honest John,” who entices Pinocchio to forget about school and take up the easy carefree life of “the theater.”

Of course, “Honest John” doesn't really have Pinocchio’s best interest at heart. He recognizes the cash value of a live puppet without strings, and plans to sell Pinocchio to a travelling gypsy puppeteer by the name of Stromboli. And now, let's see just how well Pinocchio resists temptation.

(video segment)

no strings on me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1du4id5Bys

You know, growing up, I always loved this scene - it's my favorite song in the movie. He is so cute dancing around on stage. But now that I am older, this song disturbs me a little bit. It bothers me because it hits too close to home. That's because the words Pinocchio sings don't just describe his feelings, they describe how we all feel.

We all long to be freed from the “strings” that we think hold us down. We want to be liberated from rules and responsibilities and morals and accountability. We want to be free to live any way we want, and not be told what is right and wrong. We want to “do our own thing.”

Isn't that what we all long for?

“I've got no strings to hold me down, to make me fret or make me frown.

I had strings, but now I'm free - there are no strings on me.”

Friends, doesn't that describe America today? We don't want government to regulate us. We don't want teachers to correct us. We don't want religion to restrict what we want to do. We don't want any kind of moral standard to judge our behavior. What we want is to be like Pinocchio - free with no strings to hold us down.

And it was fun for Pinocchio, for a few hours at least - until he realized that, instead of being the “star of the show,” he had actually become a slave of the puppeteer. His freedom had come at a high price, indeed.

But then, with the help of the Blue Fairy, Pinocchio manages to escape - only to be tempted again. This time, the lure was to go to “Pleasure Island,”- a place where there were no rules or morals - the ultimate experience of “living without strings.”

On Pleasure Island, naughty boys like Pinocchio can drink and smoke and vandalize and brawl and curse to their heart's content. They can even make “a jack-ass” of themselves, if they want to.

And, if you remember the story, that was the whole idea! These rebellious boys would magically be transformed into donkeys, and then be sold as beasts of burden to work in the salt mines. And for a time, it seemed that this would be Pinocchio’s fate. (put a pin in that – we’ll return to Pinocchio’s foolish decisions in a moment)

But, before we look at how Pinocchio’s story concludes. I want to pause and lift up some of the ways this story echoes Scripture: After all, our sermon series, “The Gospel According to Once Upon a Time”

is all about the spiritual lessons we can learn from the stories of our childhood.

So, where do we see the Bible in the story of Pinocchio?

· We have just seen that Pinocchio was about to be sold into slavery – sound familiar? just like Joseph was sold to slave traders by his brothers.

· As the story progresses toward its conclusion, Pinocchio comes to his senses and returns home (just like the Prodigal Son).

· But when he gets to the toy shop, Pinocchio discovers that his father has set out to find his lost son

(like the Prodigal son’s father or the Good Shepherd seeking the lost sheep).

· Geppetto takes a boat and rows toward Pleasure Island, but there is a storm (isn’t there always a storm?),

then is swallowed by a whale (like Jonah).

· Pinocchio had set out to find his father, and at last father and son are reunited in the belly of the whale,

and like Jonah, the whale expels both of them to safety by spewing them out of his mouth.

· In the end, the Blue Fairy rewards the puppet for passing the test, and he is transformed into a real boy –

just as we are saved by the grace of God.

You didn’t know Pinocchio was such a religious story, did you?

But now - back to Pleasure Island and the bad choices Pinocchio has made. You know, we could be awfully critical of Pinocchio. “How could he be so stupid! It’s bad enough to be duped once, but twice?”

But before we're too quick to ridicule him, we have to confess that we succumb to temptation over and over and over again. At least Pinocchio learned his lesson after only two incidents. With most of us, it's a lifetime addiction.

Just like Pinocchio, you and I have “good intentions” of doing what's right. Most of the time, we don't deliberately choose to sin, we just sort of slip into it. That's because the devil is so sneaky. Like “Honest John,” The devil has a way of disarming us and tempting us to sin. He does it in several ways:

First, he makes what is ugly seem attractive.

There was a movie a number of years ago that depicted the devil - not as a frightening creature wearing a red suit, horns, and a tail, with a pitchfork in his hand; instead, he appeared as a handsome man wearing a $1000 Italian-made designer suit, oozing charm and charisma.

You see, the devil knows we will run from evil if it seems to be evil, but if he can make what is evil seem good, and what is ugly seem beautiful, - then he has us just where he wants us. “Ah… the actor’s life” seemed ideal to Pinocchio, but it was only a ruse that led to disaster.

Another technique of the devil is to twist the truth in order to confuse us.

Do you remember the story in the Gospels that describes the confrontation between Jesus and Satan in the wilderness? The devil very cleverly quoted the Bible to Jesus. And, at first blush, he seemed to be making some good points. But Jesus exposed his hypocrisy, showing how Satan had twisted and misrepresented God's word. You know, there are folks out there- even some preachers - who think nothing of twisting God's word like a pretzel if it will serve their interests. If we are going to be able to resist falling into this trap of the devil, it is essential that we know God's word better than the devil does!

A third way the devil entices us is by offering us a shortcut to success.

“Pinocchio - you don't need to bother with school and hard work! Why not just become an actor - live the easy life, and let others pay your way.” Boy! Aren't we sucked into that lie in America today? “Kids - you don't need to study to get good grades; go ahead and cheat so you can get into that good college!” “Business men and women - climb that ladder of success by telling lies about your coworkers, taking credit for the work of others, and blaming your mistakes on them. After all, why shouldn't you get that promotion?” “Floridians - you don't need to pay higher taxes to support the schools! Just play the lottery and strike it rich and the schools will be rolling in money!”

Ah - shortcuts. They seem so bright and promising. But they come with a dark side. “Oh yes,” the devil says, “play by my rules, and you'll be on easy street.” But, be aware! It's a lie!

A fourth method the devil uses is to blind us so that we can only see our own desires and interests, and no longer care for others.

“Honest John” was So smooth that he caused Pinocchio to completely forget what Geppetto and Jiminy Cricket had told him. All he could think of was himself. The Blue Fairy had warned him that, unless he could prove himself unselfish, he could never be a real boy. That holds true for you and me too.

The final trick Satan plays on us in order to get us to yield to temptation is to cause us to forget (at least briefly) that our actions have consequences that affect ourselves and others.

Pinocchio learned this the hard way - and he had the donkey ears to prove it! So many of us have been there - willing to trade one moment of pleasure for a lifetime of pain and suffering: Teens surrender to their hormones, and young girls become pregnant: A man stops at a bar after work for a few beers and kills or maims innocent people on his drive home; Business people with access to company funds just can't say no to that boat or car or house, and siphon off cash that somehow finds its way into their own bank account.

It happens all the time - Satan dangles the carrot in front of us and, as we try to grab hold of it, we walk forward - right over a cliff.

James was so right in his letter in the New Testament: “Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.”

Yes, like Pinocchio, we are all “enticed and dragged away” by temptation. As the Apostle Paul reminds us, “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience.” Even Jesus himself had to deal with it. The word tells us that he was “tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus overcame temptation, and God expects us to do the same.

But he was God's son! How are common ordinary garden variety Christians like you and me supposed to resist the devil?

The good news from Pinocchio (and from the scriptures) is that God does not leave us defenseless against the temptations of Satan.

Paul tells us that “good news” when he writes: “God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure."

And, what is that way out God provides? He has given us our own Jiminy Cricket to guide us through the minefield of temptations. The Bible calls that special guide, “The Holy Spirit.” Listen to what Jesus says in John's gospel, “When the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.” Or, as Jiminy said, “When you get in trouble and you don't know right from wrong, give a little whistle… and always let your conscience be your guide.”

Yes, God has provided the way out. The question for us is the same as it was for Pinocchio: Will we listen to our guide? Or, will we be enticed by the lure of “living a life without strings?”

Ultimately, it's up to us. God has given us a choice. We can choose to live a life without restraint, casting off the strings that hold us, and make a jack-ass of ourselves; Or, we can choose to live our lives by a higher standard, recognizing that a life without strings – is really, no life at all. Then, we will finally have learned what “The Gospel According to Pinocchio” wants to teach us. Once we have learned that lesson, we are safe in the arms of our Heavenly Father, fully embraced as his “real” daughter or son. We are finally home!

Footnote:

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1 Pinocchio. Walt Disney Co. 1940