The Parable of the Parrot

By Ron Zeiner

There once was a woman who lived alone except for two pets, a large tomcat and an African grey parrot She loved both pets but was disturbed to find that the cat wanted to catch and eat the parrot! At times she allowed the parrot out of his cage to enjoy the freedom of flying around inside the house for a while. Usually when she did this, she put the cat outside or confined the bird to a single room with the door shut. Still, she did not quite trust the cat.

Now, African Grey parrots are intelligent birds that can be taught to talk. So, the woman taught it to say, “When you see the cat fly to the top of the fridge.” The top of the fridge was a safe place for the parrot as the cat could not reach it there. Often the parrot would repeat the phrase to the woman: when she said, “When you see the cat…” the parrot would say “fly to the top of the fridge.”

One day the woman left the house to go to the store. She had forgotten that the parrot was out of his cage, and she did not notice that as she left the house the cat had darted in. When the woman returned from the store what do you suppose she found? Feathers! Feathers everywhere! The cat had caught and eaten the parrot! What happened? Although the parrot knew the words and could recite them perfectly, the parrot did not know what the words meant and did not put them into practice.

Many Christians, like the parrot, know the scriptures very well. They can recite them perfectly and, if tested on them, could give the correct answers. However, they do not always know what they mean, and they do not put them into practice in their daily lives.

Are you like the parrot?

Matthew 7:21-23 and Luke 6:46 note the same idea in Jesus’ parable of the wise and foolish builders. Both housebuilders heard the words of Jesus, but only one put the words into practice. They both faced storms in life – the same rain and wind, the same challenge and hardships. The one who remained safe put Jesus’ words into practice. He lived them out in his daily life. The one who failed in life heard but did not live them out. He was like the parrot. Which one are you like?