The Rattlesnake and the Copperhead

   Not all decisions we make in life are clearly right-or-wrong decisions.  I maintain that, as Christians mature, having made right decisions for a long time, the majority of decisions become the choice between better and best because you have consistently made decisions that settled most of the issues that deal with sin and righteousness.  Those decisions are no longer a challenge or temptation to you.

   However, life sometimes forces us into situations where we have to decide on “the lesser of two evils.”  I have an illustration for such situations: When you have to make a choice between a rattlesnake and a copperhead, don’t allow your hatred for one to cause you to “take up the cause” for the other!

   Be careful that what you stand against doesn’t cause you to stand for something that you really do not support.  I may have had experience with a rattlesnake that causes me such fear or animosity that I find myself defending the copperhead.  The truth is- I don’t want to crawl into bed with either one!  Both are extremely dangerous.  And all the rattlesnakes are going to defend their kind as are all the copperheads.  Don’t be fooled by either.

   A Christian does not side with evil to combat another evil.  Don’t fall into the trap of championing the cause of one evil to combat another.  You may be forced to make a choice, but don’t become a rattlesnake to defeat a copperhead… or vice versa.  

    Isaiah lived in a deeply-divided time.  The Lord had called him to be his representative.  Listen to what the Lord told him- “Indeed this is what the Lord told me. He took hold of me firmly and warned me not to act like these people.” “Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ every time these people say the word.  Don’t be afraid of what scares them; don’t be terrified. You must recognize the authority of the Lord who commands armies. He is the one you must respect; he is the one you must fear.”   - Isaiah 8: 11-13 (NET)

   Let him who has ears hear. 

Ken Stegall
The Woodlands, TX