An Interview with Peter Rabbit
Farmer Joe has the largest carrot garden in the county, while Farmer Jake has the largest cotton crop. If you interviewed Peter Rabbit and asked at which farmer’s property he would make his home, he might say, “Farmer Joe’s, of course.”
You probe a little deeper and ask, “Why Farmer Joe?”
Do you think Peter Rabbit would say, “Well, I hear he is kind, friendly, good-looking and a much better businessman than Farmer Jake”? Probably not. Instead, he would be more likely to answer, “Because I eat Farmer Joe’s carrots.”
Ask Peter Rabbit why he eats Joe’s carrots instead of snacking on Jake’s cotton, and you would discover carrots — not cotton — make up a large part of his diet. He didn’t make his selection because of either farmer’s character; he cared mainly about their produce. In other words, he needed carrots, but he didn’t need a cotton sweater. The carrots drove his expectations for the best place to put down his roots (pun intended).
This may be a very simplistic illustration, but the fact is we all have a “carrot” which shapes our expectations. Our future expectations reveal more about this carrot than the actual outcome and our response to it.
The “Carrot” Categories
One of the terms the Bible uses for our carrots in life is affections. They are anything upon which we set our minds. Colossians 3:2 admonishes, “Set your minds [“affections” in KJV] on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Whether our carrots for 2024 are political, social, relational, spiritual, physical, health-related, financial or emotional, they fall into two categories: those driven by a love for heavenly things, and those driven by a love for earthly things.
How do we know the difference? Think about why _fill-in-the-blank_ is an expectation for you. Do you want it for your sake, for others or for God and the advancement of His kingdom?
Here’s another test: how do you respond when the carrot is taken away or withheld? When your candidate loses; your health fails; you don’t find a marriage partner; your bank account runs low; you lose your job; your government makes regulations which contradict your convictions. This will quickly prove whether you are motivated by selfish ambitions or heavenly ones.
As a final means of evaluation, consider how you respond when you get the carrot: Your candidate wins; you get good results from the doctor; you get married; you have more than enough in your bank account; you get the job you’ve always anted; your government is making decisions you support. Does this satisfy you, does it fill you with gratitude to God, or does it leave you longing for more?
Our “Carrots” Have Consequences
Our carrots matter more than we realize. In the simplest of terms, earthly carrots are subject to the disappointments of life; heavenly carrots last forever. Matthew 6:19—21 states: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” This doesn’t mean we should renounce all of our non-spiritual desires. It does mean we should be careful which desires we make into carrots, or treasures, which drive our decisions and actions.
Think about the expectations you carry into the new year, and consider what these desires reveal about your heart. Ask God to search your heart so your motives are pure. Here is a prayer you can make your own as you anticipate the future that awaits: Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)
Article by Cam Edwards
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