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Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins
Foolish Fire Ants
It’s that time again. Time for the emergence of a fierce pest – the fire ant. These tiny ants can cause major problems for farmers, ranchers, contractors, and they are dangerous even to children playing in the yard, with a bite that can sting like “fire.” They withstand almost every attempt to destroy them. They will build their nests anywhere they want to, including the kitchen pantry and even an upstairs closet. The most effective way to control them seems to be the use of a “bait,” food that they take back to the colony and the queen. The bait is laced with a poison that kills the queen and ultimately the entire mound.
Watching the ants diligently carrying this “food” back to their queen is interesting and instructive. Tiny ants carry a load larger than themselves, struggle mightily to bring it from afar, and finally take it to the depths of the mound. They obviously believe they are providing sustenance for their queen and their associates, but in reality they are bringing about their destruction. If we take the wise man’s advice we will “go to the ant...consider her ways, and be wise,” Proverbs 6:6. We will learn both positive and negative lessons, but the one we want to consider at this time, however, is a warning about what we bring to our “nest” and to our family.
Some parents bring to their homes and families an emphasis upon material possessions that will stay with their children throughout their lives. We know that money and possessions are not evil in themselves, but when they become the emphasis of one’s life, they bring “many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction,” 1 Timothy 6:9. When cars, clothes, boats and hobbies are seen as the ultimate desire of parents, children assume that it is good to “love...the world,” even though the Bible plainly tells us “love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him,” 1 John 2:15. Like the ant, you may think you are bringing sustenance to your family, but in reality you are contributing to their destruction.
Others have unthinkingly brought into their homes and families the grossest forms of obscenity and pornography. I have known of fathers who subscribed to magazines, the emphasis of which was sensuality, that perverted that which should be holy and pure. Others may do the same by bringing the filth of the movie industry into their own living rooms, either by means of renting the movies or various television networks. Unsupervised or unwise use of leisure time is one way Satan will always try to take “advantage of us,” 2 Corinthians 2:11. These very things are the “devices” so effectively used by Satan and his emissaries. One may think he is providing the emotional sustenance and entertainment needed by his children, only to discover that the real consequences in their children’s lives are fornication, worldliness, immodesty and spiritual death. Whatever you do, don’t bring such things into your home!
Since we live in a world ruled by Satan (who is called the “god of this world” in 2 Corinthians 4:4), it is not unusual for some to bring back to their family the language of this world, including profanity, vulgarity and blasphemy. If you work with those who use this kind of language it takes a special effort for you to keep that environment from rubbing off on you. A recent USA Today article stated that the use of “formerly forbidden words” has increased by over 300%, and that now it is not surprising to hear such language come from women, teenagers, business people, teachers and young children. If you bring it home to your family, whether by books, movies or your own speech, you are providing a destructive influence for your own family, James 3:2-10.
More people are enrolling in schools and colleges than ever before, and education is a high priority in many homes today. Parents are planning and saving for their children’s future education, and there is much benefit to be gained by so doing. However, if we bring in a secular education without also teaching them God’s word, we have failed to equip them for the inevitable battles of life that are so eternally threatening. Encourage them to study the Bible – with you – and to read good literature. Start by showing them God’s way by your own example, Matthew 5:6, 13-16. Be extra careful! Don’t neglect the most important part of their education!
We are so much like the ant, struggling to provide for our own, yet we must also use good judgment in what we bring home to our nest.
“Take heed to thyself, and to thy teaching. Continue in these things; for in doing this thou shalt save both thyself and them that hear thee,” I Timothy 4:16.
Carl B Garner
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I'll Go to the Prom, but I Won't Dance . . .
"I go to the Prom, but only to talk." Such was the vigorous statement offered in self-defense by a Christian teen. He thought himself to be quite the spiritual rock because he did not "shake a leg" on the dance floor while he watched others gyrate across the hardwood. But is that a statement of strength or one of compromise? It is the latter, and more than compromise, it is sinful.
The Scriptures say, "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God," Gal. 5:19-21. The word, "lasciviousness," though not used much in our modern English, is full of meaning. It is translated from the Greek, aselgeia, which carries the definition, "wanton (acts or) manners, as filthy words, indecent bodily movements, unchaste handling of males and females" (Thayer's Lexicon, pp. 79-80).
I do not think you can write a more concise, accurate description of the modern dance than to say it is made up of "indecent bodily movements," and "unchaste handling of males and females." The dance floor is the setting for music, gyrations, rubbing, fondling, bumping, and grinding that just ought not to be done among folks who love God and treasure pure hearts (Mt. 5:8). Its appeal is to the flesh, the sensual, the sexy, the erotic—about the only ones who deny this are members of the church who are trying to justify their dance desire. If that is not so, why is the dance a male-female activity? The world admits it freely! The music is oftentimes suggestive in word and beat. The clothing is low-cut, high-cut, cut in the middle, cut on the sides, tight on top (and several other places), with things showing that ought to be covered from anyone other than a spouse in the privacy of home. The discussion often centers around the passion kindled on the dance floor and its fulfillment after the last note fades. I may go to the dance only to visit, but in so doing, I take in the same atmosphere—the same music, dancing, and apparel as the dancers.
I have never heard of a spiritual, Bible-versed brother or sister who wanted to be at a dance. Have you? I cannot imagine most young folks wanting the most spiritual person they know to accompany them to a dance and see its movements and appraise its wholesomeness. I certainly cannot picture Christ at the modern dance, nor would we want Him to return while we were at a dance.
Now to the one who does not dance but attends. What does your influence say as you stand there socializing, having a good old time with your buddies while the very occasion that brings you there is wrong in God's sight? It looks like you approve of that activity, doesn't it? As a matter of fact, you do, or you would not be there. After all, no one is forcing you to attend. The Bible still reads, "Abstain from all appearance of evil" (1 Thess. 5:22).
"But," you argue, "there are things sold and worn in the grocery store that are sinful." Sure, but going into a general merchandise store does not at all tell those watching that you are there after a six-pack of beer, does it? What if you went to the town pub for a Coke and an afternoon of conversation with your friends? Out front the sign reads, "Joe's Beer Tavern." Inside, the furnishings are classic beer joint. The customers are blowing foam and gulping Miller Lite. Whiskey bottles line the bar. The smell of alcoholic beverages fills the air. A drunk staggers out the door. And there you are, just conversing and drinking your Coke. Be real! How many folks are going to a bar to talk? What do people do at a bar? What do folks see when you come out of a bar? What conclusions are drawn? What good have you done for the cause of Christ? Why is it that faithful Christians, the local preacher, and the elders do not hold their meetings at the bar? Yes, we are responsible for the appearance of our deeds before God and the world. Paul wrote, "Take thought for things honorable in the sight of all men" (Rom. 12:17), and "for we take thought for things honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men" (2 Cor. 8:21).
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