Veruca Salt

Oompa Loompa doom-pa-dee-do
I have another puzzle for you
Oompa Loompa doom-pa-da-dee
If you are wise, you’ll listen to me
Who do you blame when your kid is a brat?
Pampered and spoiled like a Siamese cat
Blaming the kids is a lie and shame
You know exactly who’s to blame
The mother and the father
Oompa Loompa doom-pa-dee-da
If you’re not spoiled, then you will go far
You will live in happiness too
Like the Oompa Loompa doom-pa-dee-do
1971 Film

Veruca Salt was the reason I began writing this series. There are a few reasons which I will get into in a minute, but first let’s remember more about Veruca Salt.

Veruca is probably most remembered in the 1971 film for her song “I want it now!” This song encapsulated not only her demeanor but also that of her father. If you remember she walks into the area of the Chocolate Factory where the Golden Geese were laying their golden chocolate eggs. Upon seeing them, she remarks, “Hey Daddy, I want a Golden Goose.” Her father, after trying to get her to wait, gives in and begins to offer money to Wonka. When Wonka declines she begins her song, where she just goes through her list of demands. Ultimately she ends up on the Eggdecator and is determined to be a bad egg and dropped into the furnace. Her father jumps in after her to save her.

The lesson the Oompa Loompas want us to learn is that spoiled children are created by the fathers and mothers who give in.

Basically, children will mature to the level the parent structures them, and no higher.
John Townsend – Boundaries with Kids

So, how does this relate to our walk as Christians? Impatience, Greed and Envy.

Be still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for him to act.
Don’t worry about evil people who prosper
or fret about their wicked schemes.
Psalm 37:7 NLT

We live in a world where many Christians sound like Veruca. I want my blessing, I want my Heavenly reward, and I want it now!

Who is to blame for this? Well as the Oompa Loompas tell us, we need to look to the mothers and the fathers, and in this case, those are the Spiritual Teachers and Leaders that pass on this kind of teaching.

With books Like, “God Wants You to Be Rich: How and Why Everyone Can Enjoy Material and Spiritual Wealth in Our Abundant World,” and teachers of the Prosperity Gospel, it is no wonder why many who claim to be Christian are sounding more like Veruca Salt. Here is a link to more about the Prosperity Gospel.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Matthew 6:19-24 NASB

God does promise us an abundant life, and we will one day reside with Him in the New Heaven and New Earth, but we have a Sinful Nature that will easily steer us into greed, impatience, and envy. What we must strive for is being grateful for the blessings we have and to rest in the knowledge that our needs are met, but even if all we have is God then that is more than enough.