“I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16)
They come around every so often to visit our backyard. They being critters. My husband, Reid has taken it upon himself to protect our home from these said critters. As I write this blog, we have an opossum who has decided to dig under our sunroom and take up residence. After doing some research we learned they are not harmful, just more of a nuisance who like to eat the bugs in our yard. Therefore, we have decided to allow him to board at our place – for now. One night a few years back when Reid was taking the trash out to the curb, he encountered a mouse. Now this mouse was no Mickey Mouse. When the little rodent saw Reid, he charged at him (I kid you not). That culminated in the mouse chasing Reid in circles in the middle of the road, until Reid could get his footing and kick the little mammal into the storm drain. Believe me I cannot make this stuff up. Then there was the visit from the worse weasel. A skunk. Reid knew he had to take immediate action, so Daniel Boone got his trusty air rifle and took him out by putting two pellets in the smelly visitor’s temple. My hero!
Jesus warned his disciples, as well as us, that as we go out into this world we are like sheep among wolves. Therefore, he told us to be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves. What exactly does this mean? It means that in this world we will encounter a variety of people who demand our attention. We will find people who, like our opossum, are annoying and a nuisance. With these sort of people, we need to follow the command Paul gave us in Colossians 3:13 – “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.” Let’s be honest, we are all annoying to someone from time to time. With opossums, we need to be patient in showing Christ’s love to them.
Next, there are mice we encounter from time to time who are bullies. Bullies try to control people with anger and intimidation. They are generally insecure cowards who are looking for attention. When we encounter these people, we need to heed Proverbs 22:14, “Don’t befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered people.” In dealing with bullies, it is best to simply avoid them and not give them the attention they are looking for.
Then there are the skunks we have to deal with in this world. Skunks are toxic people. They take everything they can from you. Like vampires, they drain you emotionally and mentally. Their drama will exhaust you until you find your spiritual health damaged. Jesus gave us a great warning in Matthew 7:6. He said, “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.” Be very careful around the skunks you encounter in this world. Avoid them if you can, confront them if you must. We need to do this in order to protect our relationship with Christ.
No wonder Jesus Christ warned us to be shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves. Time on our knees will give us what we need as we go out into this world and encounter critters of all kinds.
Darlene