Remember the Duck

Author Unknown

Once, a little boy went to visit his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced for a long time, but he could never seem to hit his targets.

Feeling discouraged, he headed back to the house for dinner. On his way, he spotted Grandma’s pet duck. On a sudden impulse, he let a stone fly. The stone hit the duck square in the head, killing it instantly.

The boy was shocked and grieved (feeling deep sadness and regret). In a panic, he hid the dead duck inside the woodpile. However, he turned around and realized his sister, Sally, had seen the whole thing! Sally chose to say nothing—at least, not yet.

---

Under the Power of Guilt

The next day after lunch, Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.”

Sally smiled and replied, “Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today.” She then leaned over and whispered to Johnny:

“Remember the duck?”

With a heavy heart, Johnny did the dishes.

Later that afternoon, Grandpa asked the children if they wanted to go fishing. Grandma replied, “I’m sorry, but I need Sally to help make supper.”

Again, Sally smiled and said, “Well, that’s all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help.” Once more, she whispered:

“Remember the duck?”

So Sally went fishing, and Johnny stayed behind to work.

---

Finding True Freedom

After several days of doing his own chores plus all of Sally’s chores, Johnny couldn’t stand it any longer. He finally went to Grandma and confessed (admitted his wrongdoing) that he had killed her pet duck.

Grandma knelt down, gave him a warm hug, and said:

“Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing. But because I love you, I already forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”

---

Key Spiritual Takeaway

Guilt and unconfessed sin will make a slave out of you. Satan loves to hold our past mistakes over our heads, whispering, “Remember what you did?”

But God is always standing at the window, seeing everything we do. Because of His great love, He is ready to forgive us the moment we confess our sins to Him.

Don’t let the enemy keep you enslaved to guilt. Go to God, confess your mistakes, and walk in the freedom of His forgiveness!