'A person's a person, no matter how small': A lesson from the jungle of Nool

"If you can't see, hear or feel something, it doesn't exist. And believing in tiny, imaginary people is just not something we do. Especially not here in the jungle of Nool."

Oh, the wisdom of Dr. Seuss.  Although this statement may be nullified after I see "Where the Wild Things Are," I believe that "Horton Hears a Who" is one of the best picture books to be made into a movie this century.  Since I'm leveled with a retreat hangover this afternoon-- for those unfamiliar with this term, it's the feeling that comes after spending two nights on retreat with high school students who have discovered how talking is like, you know, texting, only louder and you can do it like, any time, especially when you should be asleep -- I'm watching it with the youth group this afternoon.

So, while I recover from enjoying four hours of sleep, I'm showing "Horton Hears a Who" with minimal guilt because besides being wicked funny, it contains some great life lessons that everyone should master by middle school. 

For those unfamiliar with the story, Horton is an elephant who lives in the jungle of Nool and discovers a speck that makes noise. Because of his powerful ears, he is able to hear the voices on the speck and realizes it's actually a world of tiny people. So he decides to protect the speck, despite being ridiculed by the rest of the jungle's inhabitants -- especially the Kangaroo who insists that because she can't hear or see it, it doesn't exist.  Horton replies that he has to save the speck because "a person's a person, no matter how small."

Some in the jungle are angered by Horton's desire to protect the speck and seek to capture Horton and destroy it.  Some of Horton's friends are embarrassed by his obsession and try to convince him to give it up. But Horton insists that he promised to protect the people on the speck, and he meant what he said and he said what he meant, "and an elephant's faithful, 100 percent."

In the end, "all ended well for both Horton and Whos, and for all in the jungle, even kangaroos." Everyone heard the speck make enough noise to prove the existence of life there, apologized to Horton and even shared cookies.

Although there are many to be learned here, the lesson that I always remind the kids about when we watch Horton is that just like Horton, we're called to love and defend the defenseless. Horton was able to hear the "yelp" for help from the speck because of his extra-sensitive elephant ears, and once he heard that someone needed help, he was ready to protect them at any cost. Even when people made fun of him and told him he was crazy, he had to follow his conscience and do what he knew was right. 

When you think about it, where would any of us be if someone hadn't heard our "yelp" for help? I'm not trying to turn the good Dr. Seuss into a theologian, but the story of Horton and the speck is a great analogy for what God did for us. I hate to spoil anyone's self-esteem, but compared to the grandeur of God we are basically a speck. With the sin of Adam and Eve, we were unable to redeem ourselves and heaven was lost to us. We're a speck to God, but he wasn't OK with letting us get lost or destroyed by kangaroos or, say, the devil. God even went a step beyond Horton: He didn't just carry us to safety, he became one of us, suffered, died and rose again so that we could get off this speck and be with him forever in heaven. 

Just like Horton, sometimes we can be misunderstood or even harassed for loving those the world sees as unimportant, or "small." However, it's easy to love and help our friends and those who are capable of returning the favor. It's in protecting and serving the smallest or most in need among us that we're truly doing what the example of Christ's life and death calls us to.