"Monster Under My Bed" - A Modern Parable

Whoever has ears, let them hear. – Matthew 11:15

When I was a child, I was terrified of the monster that lived under my bed. Had I seen the monster? No. Was the monster real? Of course it was! How did I know? Everyone knows that monsters live under the beds of children – it takes up the majority of conversations on playgrounds between children. Whatever the bravest child says HAS to be true!

I never saw this monster, but I knew it was there, and it wanted to eat me! My 7-year-old life was about to be over because of this monster under my bed.

The monster would play psychological games with me just to let me know it was there. I’d be close to falling asleep, and I’d see a shadow that I couldn’t explain. I’d be lying in bed and I’d hear a creak and I’d just know it was the monster. What else could it be? It was just plotting. It was plotting to eat me. I was powerless and completely at its mercy.

My only defense was to keep my entire body covered. No matter what the temperature was, everyone knows that the only defense against a monster under your bed is to stay fully covered. I would sweat some nights so bad that I barely slept…but at least I survived. I wasn’t eaten!

What did this monster want anyway? Of course, it wanted to eat me. Why? I suppose it wanted my place in the bed. It wanted my covers. It wanted my pillows.

As I got older, I wanted to bargain with the monster, but of course no one bargains with monsters. You can only deal with a monster by obliterating it. How would I destroy the monster under my bed? Should I have a full on assault? Should I perform a covert attack? Should I just live in the relative fearful peace that we’ve lived in for years?

The cardinal rule is that there can be no peace with a monster! I had to destroy it, and I had to do it immediately. But how??? What about the collateral damage? What about my innocent toys that may have fallen and found their way under the bed? I guess they would just have to be casualties for the greater good.

So, I got my mom’s vacuum, and faced my fears. After a lot of mental preparation and anguish, I plugged in the vacuum, got on my hands and knees, and I began to sweep under the bed. I swept up dust bunnies – they look like innocent pieces of dust clumps, but one never knows. I destroyed a few innocent toys - collateral damage. I never saw the monster. But, I knew I must have swept it up. I destroyed it. I looked long and hard, and it was no longer under the bed. It was now in the bag of the sweeper. Vindication was mine!

My years of terror were over! No more fear for me! That night, I confidently went to bed, turned off the lights, crawled into bed, and I didn’t even cover my entire body. 

And then, I saw the same shadows and heard the same noises…

1 John 4:18 - There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.