Elfi Kummer was completely confused. She would have to close the Sea Star Aquarium because of an electrical problem. For two days in a row the electrical system needed for the aquarium had mysteriously stopped working. The electricians couldn’t find the cause of this problem. All of the sea creatures were in danger of dying when the electric pumps which sent oxygen flowing into their water didn’t have electricity. Something had to be done right away!
In the summer, the Sea Star Aquarium in Coburg, Germany, was usually bustling with visitors who were there to see the 3,200 different sea creatures living there. One favorite was the very clever, six-month-old octopus named Otto. The workers had trained him to squirt passing visitors, and that kept him busy and having fun during the busy summer months. But now that it was quieter in the winter, the 31-inch octopus was bored. He began to cause trouble.
Otto found things to do that didn’t cause too much trouble at first. Using his eight legs, he would juggle the hermit crabs that shared his tank. This got a good reaction from the workers and gave him the attention he wanted. But then the workers drifted off to do other jobs. He had the playfulness to grab the workers’ scrubbers when they tried to clean his tank. But imagine the stress for the creatures that shared his tank when this mischievous octopus rearranged the whole tank to exactly how he wanted it!
Otto’s next trick was to start throwing rocks at the glass walls of his aquarium. That brought the workers over to try to keep him out of trouble! They invented toys like bottled crabs for him to play with. That worked for a little while, but how long can you keep a clever octopus out of trouble? They would soon find out.
Not long after, the power outages started. After two nights, some of the workers decided to take turns sleeping on the aquarium floor. One worker would stay awake to see if he could spot the start of the electrical trouble. After watching for a few hours, he would wake up the next worker to take his turn.
Toward morning, one of the workers noticed Otto crawling up the side of his tank. He got onto the top edge of the aquarium and then he took careful aim at the 2000-watt light bulb overhead. WHOOOSH! Otto squirted a long stream of water onto the light bulb, and ZAP! The water short-circuited the lighting system, shutting off the power to the whole building!
So that was the cause of the problem! A bored octopus was using his trained squirting abilities to amuse himself. This is rather interesting behavior for an octopus, but it makes me think about the trouble a selfish person causes.
Otto sounds like some boys and girls and older people I know. They think their world should be arranged to make them happy. They think: “I should do whatever makes me happy.” God’s Word warns us about these days and calls them dangerous. “This know also, that in the last days perilous [dangerous] times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves ... lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:1-2,41This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, (2 Timothy 3:1‑2)
4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; (2 Timothy 3:4)).
Even though we live in a selfish world, we have a perfect example in the Lord Jesus of how we should behave. Romans 15:33For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. (Romans 15:3) tells us, “Even Christ pleased not Himself.” He said, “I came down from heaven, not to do [My] own will, but the will of Him that sent Me” (John 6:3838For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. (John 6:38)). This teaches us that the way to have true joy is found in doing the will of God and trying to please others in right ways. The Bible says: “Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth” (1 Corinthians 10:2424Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth. (1 Corinthians 10:24)). Live to please the Lord and to seek the happiness of others, and you will find greater happiness than you will ever have in living for your own happiness.
Messages of God’s Love 10/8/2023