The above is one of the more colorful lines from the stage and film dark comedy "Little Shop of Horrors." The line is spoken by Audrey II, a carnivorous plant with an increasingly sizeable personality and appetite.
Seymour is a clumsy employee of Mushnik's Flower Shop down on skid row, where he daydreams of an unrequited love for Audrey, his coworker. After consistently no business in the shop, Mr. Mushnik, the shop's owner, decides to close the business. Seymour and Audrey tell Mushnik they think putting something interesting, strange, and new in the window will attract business he is seeking. Seymour discovers the perfect plant for the job: a flytrap-type plant he calls Audrey II. The plant immediately attracts business but after the store closes for business hours, the plant begins to wilt and Mr. Mushnik orders Seymour to do something about it.
That night, Seymour discovers what it is that makes Audrey II the unique plant she is: a diet of blood. Seymour feeds the plant his own blood, and as a result, Audrey II gets bigger and bigger. Seymour becomes incapable of sustaining Audrey II's need. Urging him to kill people and feed them to her, the talking plant becomes more and more insistent. Audrey II promises Seymour great things that will bring him business, luxuries, and everything he's ever wanted including Audrey, the love of his life.
Seymour, fed up with the insistent feeding of Audrey II, decides to marry Audrey and leave town. Audrey II catches him trying to leave and demands even more food. Seymour finally refuses to give anymore of himself, but chooses to get some meat for the plant while making his escape. While he's gone, Audrey II calls Audrey over to him and tries in turn to eat her. Seymour reappears in the nick of time to save his beloved Audrey. After an executive from a plant company offers to distribute Audrey IIs worldwide, Seymour realizes Audrey II's plan is to have plants like her all over the world. Seymour survives an attack by Audrey II and does her in by electrocution.
Seymour and Audrey get married and live happily ever after, but all fades to black with a view of another Audrey II sprouting up in the garden.
"Cause if you feed me, Seymour, I can grow up big and strong" reminds me of life in most American churches. A consumerist dynamic exists among so many churchgoers who make demands of church staff with the expectation they are to "be fed" so they can grow up "big and strong." Little consideration is given to the personal responsibility of "growing in the Lord."
Not nearly as sinister as in "Little Shop," among some in the church there is an occasional "demand" for services rendered. When this happens, it makes me wonder what would result if ministers oriented themselves more toward assisting people to "feed themselves." A foundational key to spiritual formation is not only realizing one's own spiritual "hunger" but then also having enough concern about that hunger to do something about it. Too often, staff ministers propagate the very cultural frustrations by willingly "spoon feeding" Christians rather than working with them to understand the responsibility to feeding themselves. The old cliche may apply, "Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime."
If Seymour had simply insisted on Audrey II to feel herself, the issue of the carnivorous plant would have been easily solved... but then again, the plot wouldn't have been too entertaining either!
Sometimes my ministry frustrates folks. People come wanting "answers" and when they leave our time together, they complain about only having more "questions." But... in time, I hear back from them that they have found out a "new thing" about themselves or their circumstance. I credit that to the Spirit alive within them and being open to the wisdom of the Lord. If all I did was provide answers, would the same level of discovery be realized? I'm not confident it would.
Feed those who can't feed themselves, but grow those who are capable to finding nourishment on their own and help develop their appetite for the spiritual meat they need to grow into "full-bodied" followers of Christ.
"In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers,
you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again.
You need milk, not solid food!
Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant,
is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.
But solid food is for the mature,
who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish
good from evil."
Heb. 5:12-14
you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again.
You need milk, not solid food!
Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant,
is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.
But solid food is for the mature,
who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish
good from evil."
Heb. 5:12-14
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