In 1984, the famous Disney character, Donald Duck, turned 50 years old. To celebrate, Los Angeles, California Mayor Tom Bradley declared it to be Donald Duck Day. This is the original character we could call The Donald. Today, Donald Duck shares his birthday with actors Michael J. Fox, Johnny Depp, and Natalie Portman, basketball greats Udonis Haslem and Peja Stojakovic, charismatic preacher T.D. Jakes, and a host of other people whose names I didn’t recognize.
The only difference is that The Donald is older than all of them. Today, he turns 90!
Donald Duck made his screen debut on this day in 1938 in the animated film The Wise Little Hen. “The Wise Little Hen of the title is looking for someone to help her plant her corn for the winter. Peter Pig and Donald Duck both feign belly aches to get out of the chore, since they would rather play than work. With help from her chicks, she plants it herself. Harvest time comes; again, Peter and Donald claim belly aches, but the hen sees through this when boards of their clubhouse fall off showing their little act when they shake hands with each other for evading responsibility. Upon wising up to their ruse, she and her chicks wink at each other upon knowing what to do with Peter and Donald later. She cooks up a tantalizing assortment of corn dishes, and heads over to Peter and Donald to help her eat them, but before she can open her mouth, they already fake their belly aches. Once she asks them to help her eat the corn, they snap out of their façade and are excited to eat, but all she gives them is castor oil. As the hen and her chicks eat the corn themselves, Peter and Donald repent with all their might by kicking each other in the rump.”1
Since then, his appearances in over 150 movies, television, books, coloring books, stuffed toys, and plastic replicas are impossible to count. I’m sure that even though Donald is 90 years old, his days of quacking are far from over. There’s more to come from this easily flustered duck!
One of the fun things for me when writing a devotional is taking you from some strange story and making a spiritual application. It’s especially fun when it’s a topic like this. How do we get from Donald Duck to a spiritual application? Follow me on this.
We’ve been talking about a special duck. Since the early 1700s, the “duck test” has been used. It is a form of abductive reasoning, and we’ve all used it. The axiom is simply stated this way: If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. Have you heard that before? Have you used that test to ascertain something that others were defending or was introducing confusion?
God introduced the “duck test” long before it had this name. The precept is found in Matthew 7:15-20 and it starts with a warning. “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. (16) Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? (17) Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. (18) A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. (19) Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (20) Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
If it LOOKS like a false prophet, TALKS like a false prophet, and WALKS like a false prophet, it’s probably a false prophet!
There are a lot of odd ducks in our world. Don’t be tricked. Don’t be confused. Simply apply Biblical logic. Their fruit – how they walk, talk, and look – gives evidence of who and what they are. Don’t become curious. Beware of them and get as far away from them as possible.
And that’s how we get from Donald Duck to a Biblical truth!
1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wise_Little_Hen
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