Instincts for the Endangered

This was a job I had really prayed for with a Christian international organization, I was posted to a very remote area famously known for witchcraft and night-dancers. The organization was kind enough to rent for us houses right in the communities. As we went through the orientation, I was told to be careful because my landlord was known to be a chief of the night dancers. You should have seen me, I had goosebumps all over on learning I would live with the chief night dancer.

When Jesus says “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16), he is saying you are endangered, and you need survival instincts while keeping a pure conscious.

The world is hostile to our faith, we are a hunted specie, our hunter is on the prowl! (1 peter 5:8) What are our survival instincts.

The picture of a sheep among wolves is simply a painting of high-level vulnerability. This bible verse mirrors that vulnerability, ‘We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:8).

Shrewdness as a snake is a quick shift from sheep behavior, imagine if you have never travelled and all of a sudden you are alone in a big busy city such as New York, how you get around to survive requires special behavior, others have termed it being street smart. This is so akin to shrewdness, the ability to be aware of dangers and adapt to the environment, take advantage of hostility, and create opportunities in what could easily kill you. The snake is sneaky and eludes danger, it is subtle. We ought to discern the changing world especially in light of the fundamentals of our faith, be wise enough to stay relevant without compromising the essentials of faith.

Innocence as a dove is another shift from the snake behavior, whereas the former is akin to street smartness the latter is more on the inner and hearty motives. In your street smartness, avoid danger without creating danger for others. To get around the gang corners, do not be a source of death but a giver of life and hope.

We still have not dealt with the wolves, are we saying the people that do not share our faith are wolves around us? I want to submit that I prefer to see all people in the image of God, the wolf is the enemy to people and God, The wolf is Satan and his demons they roam around seeking whom to devour.

Back to my early days with the witch and night dancers, I saw demonic manifestations to a level I have never seen before. Yet I was meant to be a change agent, a social worker, stay in that community as sheep, be shrewd to survive the wiles of the enemy and innocent in heart. I loved them, served them, and came out stronger in faith.

The Christians prefer to be dove and sheep, which is great yet the environment requires us to be shrewd as well so we can escape the wolves, be street smart and impact the world.