A ring-tailed lemur after my own heart… taking the opportunity to be quietly subversive, even mildly rebellious.

“You can cage my body, but you can’t cage my spirit. All you humans have to obey the rules- me, I sit on the rules.”

Actually, all the evidence suggested this colony are very happy and very well fed. The only “rules” they bother with are the wishes of the Matriarch lemur. The senior female rules the roost, and Team Lemur are running a crafty operation persuading the Keepers to provide extra treats and enrichment.

If “Madagascar” is a favourite film, please note the leader should sing soprano and be titled Queen Julian. Oh the liberties a funny script will take!

Most of us have problems with rules (well, obeying them!). This was delightfully demonstrated by a kid at the zoo who read a notice saying “Do NOT touch the animals” and immediately said “I really want to touch one now…”

Rules are often seen as restrictions on our freedom to do what we like. See the problem? It’s our rebellious selfish independence. We don’t know what the best thing for us actually is- but think we can work it out on our own.

God’s “rules” (Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and sundry statements by Jesus) have one hugely important basic motivation behind them: to make our lives and relationship with God better.
Jesus summed things up when He declared “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” (John 14 v6)

So our lemur friend is demonstrating a helpful principle of discipleship: “Please keep to the pathWAY at all times.”

You know it makes sense.