BBD 04.13.09 Don't Jump!
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
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The Burning Bush Devotional
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04.13.09
Don't Jump!
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who
has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long at
the wine, those who go in search of mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when
it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly; at
the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper. Your eyes will
see strange things, and your heart will utter perverse things. Yes, you will
be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, or like one who lies at
the top of the mast, saying: "They have struck me, but I was not hurt; they
have beaten me, but I did not feel it. when shall I awake, that I may seek
another drink?" - Proverbs 23:29-35.
A 32-year-old woman jumped willingly into the polar bear pit at the Berlin
Zoo. Not surprisingly, this did not turn out very well for her as one of the
bears bit her on her arms, legs, hips and back. Perhaps the most surprising
thing about this is that the woman actually survived although with severe
injuries. An adult polar bear can weigh as much as 1500 lbs. (680 kg.) and
is a vicious predator. Much credit goes to the zoo employees who reacted
immediately to try distract the bears and at the same time pull the woman
out of the pit.
We can learn an important lesson from this sad event at the Berlin Zoo. We
can learn that if you jump into a pit with polar bears it is not going to
end up very well for you and you may even end up being lunch for the polar
bears. It does seem strange that we human beings are capable of such
non-rational acts. We seem to have a habit though of jumping into things
that will obviously bring much pain into our lives.
If you drink alcohol to excess it is going to cause you problems as the
writer of Proverbs says, "at the last it bites like a serpent, and stings
like a viper." If you jump into the pit of methamphetamine use, or cocaine
use, or the abuse of any drug you are going to be bitten. If you jump into
the pit of having an affair you can expect to be bitten. If you jump into
the pit of felonious behavior, whether robbing banks or writing bad checks
you can expect to be bitten.
You can spare yourself a whole lot of pain in life by just refusing to take
the jump. Don't jump into the polar bear pit! Don't jump into the alcohol
pit! Don't jump into the extra-marital affair pit! Don't jump into an
illegal drug use pit! Don't jump into the law breaking pit! Don't jump into
the doing anything to make money pit!
The Bible warns against many things, our laws prohibit many things, and our
parents tell us not to do other things. Why? Because there are things out
there in this world that are just as dangerous as a hungry polar bear.
Before you jump into the pit you might want to give it another thought, ask
for some advice, wait a few minutes or even better, pray about it. You don't
really want to be lunch for a polar bear do you?
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