The Little Red Hen

The Little Red Hen 1

Once upon a time, Little Red Hen lived on a farm with a dog, a pig and a cow.

The Little Red Hen 2

Little Red Hen worked hard every day to grow plants in her garden.

The Little Red Hen 3

The dog, the pig, and the cow did nothing but sleep all day in the warm sun and watch Little Red Hen work in her garden.

The Little Red Hen 4

One day, Little Red Hen found a grain of wheat.

The Little Red Hen 5

“Who will help me plant this wheat so that we can eat fresh bread?” she said.

The Little Red Hen 6

“Not I,” said the dog.“Not I,” said the pig.“Not I,” said the cow.

The Little Red Hen 7

“I will plant it myself then,” said Little Red Hen, and she planted the grain of wheat.

The Little Red Hen 8

Little Red Hen took good care of her wheat, but the dog, the pig and the cow said they were too tired to help.

The Little Red Hen 9

By the end of the summer, the wheat grew very tall. It was time to cut the wheat and take it to the mill.

The Little Red Hen 10

“Who will help me cut the wheat and take it to the mill so that we can have fresh bread?”

The Little Red Hen 11

“Not I,” said the dog.“Not I,” said the pig.“Not I,” said the cow.

The Little Red Hen 12

“Well then, I will take it to the mill myself,” said Little Red Hen, and she cut the wheat and set off for the mill.

The Little Red Hen 13

After the miller made wheat into soft flour, she came back to the farm and asked, “Who will help me bake the bread?”

The Little Red Hen 14

“Not I,” said the dog.“Not I,” said the pig.“Not I,” said the cow.

The Little Red Hen 15

“Well then, I will bake the bread myself.” And she did just that!

The Little Red Hen 16

She mixed the flour with salt and yeast to make the dough. After the dough rose, she put it in the oven to bake.

The Little Red Hen 17

When the bread was done, she asked, “Who will help me eat the bread?”

The Little Red Hen 18

“I will”, said the dog.“I will”, said the pig.“I will”, said the cow.

The Little Red Hen 19

“No, you will not,” said Little Red Hen.

The Little Red Hen 20

“You did not help me plant the grain, and you did not help me care for it. You did not help me cut it and take it to the mill. You did not even help me make the bread. I will eat it myself.”

The Little Red Hen 21

And she did.

Matthew 5:42

Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Acts 2:45-46

[The early Christians] sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.

Deuteronomy 15:11

For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’

Proverbs 19:17

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,

and he will reward them for what they have done.

Proverbs 28:27

Those who give to the poor will lack nothing,

but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.

2 Thessalonians 3:10

“The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”

Virtue &

Vice

“virtue”A trait or quality a culture deems morally good or

upstanding and is valued

1. We re-prioritize biblical virtues and vices to align with our cultural values

Colossians 3:5 “…sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

Colossians 3:8-9 - “…anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another…”

2. We emphasize the vices and de-emphasize the virtues

Colossians 3:12-14

“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”

3. We supplement the Bible with our own cultural virtues

Supplemental “virtues”?

• Self-sufficiency

• Fighting for freedom

• Pax Americana

Romans 12:17-19

“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath.”

Supplemental “virtues”?

• Self-sufficiency

• Fighting for freedom

• Pax Americana

• Tolerance

4. We ignore biblical virtues & vices not in our culture

Luke 12:15

“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

Luke 12:16-17

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’…

Luke 12:18-19

“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

Luke 12:20-21

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

How to avoid the “virtue” trap

• Start paying attention to the way you automatically interpret passages dealing with virtues and vices

• Be sensitive to what the author is trying to emphasize

• Read the writings of Christians from different cultures and different ages