Animal Instinct

I was taking my daily walk this evening when I came up on a rabbit. I was probably ten yards away from it when it slowly, cautiously began hopping away from me. Mind you, I'm not the most menacing guy to begin with, and especially so when I'm unarmed, so from my point of view, little Bugsy there had nothing to worry about. But Mr. Bunny didn't know me from Elmer Fudd or some other Wabbit Hunter, and his survival instinct told him to hop. I continued walking, and he continued hopping, keeping himself a safe distance from harm's way.

I'm not entirely sure why this was my next thought, but I suddenly found myself wondering why our instincts don't function the same way when it comes to sin. I don't know about you, but I'd sure love it if something inside me sounded an internal, spiritual alarm that told me, "Danger ahead! Hop away - FAST!"

Instead, there is that tendency to flirt with danger, much like Bugs Bunny is doing in this picture. There certainly is danger afoot, but it seems like I can debate with it, confuse it, make it change its course, as Bugsy could so often do with poor, beFUDDled Elmer. A little slick talk, and presto! you've outsmarted the danger.

Sin isn't like cartoon danger, though. The bible describes Satan as "a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8, NIV). It's ugly, nasty stuff. And our spiritual alarms SHOULD sound off when sin is in the area. I think of the Old Testament hero Joseph who, when he was propositioned by his boss' wife, ran away so fast that "he left his cloak in her hand." And I think of the Apostle Paul's straightforward admonition to his protege, Timothy: "Flee the evil desires of youth." These are examples of how to treat sin, biblically speaking. You don't flirt with it, you don't trust yourself to outwit, outplay, and outlast it, as if it were a SURVIVOR contest. You get away. Pronto.

So, next time I sense sin around me, I'm going to heed the lesson I learned from the rabbit of my walk: I'll listen to my spiritual instinct (which, of course, is the voice of the Holy Spirit), and RUN AWAY.

Comments

[Roy Richardson]

It is symptomatic of the arrogance of man that we think we can outwit the 2nd most powerful being in the Universe.

I've done a poor job of fleeing at times. Pride does go before a fall.

Good advice.