Jackass in Lion's Clothing

We read a retelling of Aesop's The Donkey in the Lion's Skin in Noah's reader. I found this version online:

"A donkey found a lion's skin and put it on. In this frightening disguise, he grazed in a farmer's field. He amused himself by frightening all the animals he met. He felt so powerful!

Along came a fox. The donkey under the lion's skin tried to frighten him. The donkey stood tall under the skin and let out a sound that he thought would resemble a roar. Alas, his donkey voice was all that was heard.

The fox laughed and said, "Silly donkey, if you really want to frighten me you'll have to disguise your bray. Clothes MAY disguise a fool you know. But, his words always give him away!"


At first, we talked about how wise the fox was for understanding the situation he was truly in, and how a fool reveals himself when he opens his mouth. Then as we talked, I began to see another interpretation of this story. Know anyone who prowls the earth like a lion? When we have Christ, we can see that our adversary is not a lion, but is a jackass who is pretending to be the powerful lion! Who makes us run and flee and fear a lie! We have all felt that fear at one time or another, but if we listen closely we can hear that the voice of that false lion is not the voice of the True Lion.

Because we know and hold to the Truth of our salvation, we can see through the enemy's lies... and see him for what he is. Someone who knows that he has already lost, and amuses himself frightening the timid.