Punch the Monkey

Growing Daily

Punch the Monkey

Nobody expected a tiny monkey named Punch to take over the internet.  The young Japanese macaque, abandoned by his mother, has captured millions of hearts after zookeepers shared videos of him clinging to a stuffed orangutan for comfort.

For once, cyberspace didn’t erupt in outrage.  Feeds filled with compassion instead of criticism.  Strangers paused long enough to care about something small and vulnerable.

It struck me how hungry we are for what is soft and good.  We’re not made to live on a steady diet of conflict.  We’re drawn to innocence and moved by tenderness.

With that in mind, Paul’s words in Philippians 4:8 call for intentional obedience: “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.  Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” 

The world will always offer division. But we have opportunities to notice and amplify what is good—not just the heartwarming stories on social media, but what is true and pure in God’s sight.

The things we dwell on will shape us, and what we share multiplies.  Today, think about heavenly things (Colossians 3:2). Let our lives quietly magnify a God who is excellent and worthy of praise.


- Ron Reid