Eventually, we came upon a large ant pile teaming with busy red ants. As we neared the pile, my older, protective, and in my opinion rather bossy sister warned me not to mess with the pile. They'll bite you, and it hurts really badly!That was enough for me to jump right in. No they won't... No it doesn't... You just have to be tough... Watch!... I professed as I danced over to and on top of the large pile. For whatever reason, on that hot summer day, I was wearing jeans. Not a good choice for ant-dancing. At first I was fine, and my professions of belief were holding true. But soon the pricks and fire came. My exclamations of defiance and boyhood strength were thrown into a flash-fry of screaming, patting my legs rapidly, and dancing for a different reason. I thought I was dying.
I can't remember much after that, but I'm pretty sure I felt pretty foolish in the bathroom when my dad began wiping cool water all over my legs, asking me why I thought it was a good idea to dance in an ant pile, especially when my sister had said not to.
We all would think I had learned a lesson that day. In some ways I have. I'm now terrified of ants, bees, spiders, mice, squirrels, etc. But in other regards, the lesson is yet living into its full being.
Nearly every Sunday as I approach the stage to teach and wrestle with many of Jesus' tough lessons on life and faith, I make sure everyone knows I don't and won't teach about anything I don't also need to work on or hear. I want everyone to be clear we're all wrestling with the same things and all have something to learn from the message. That's the truth.
But here's where the ant-pile lesson comes into play today: yesterday (3/29), I taught on Jesus' example of humility as he rode in his own parade on a colt. He knew he was great, but it was for his humility, not his self-proclaimed fame. I challenged each of us to consider how we go about being great and take up the task to build up others for the rest of the day rather than ourselves. It's a hard lesson.
Almost immediately after second service, I can recall my first fail at humility as I bragged about my training routine to some young guys. And as the day progressed, I continually broke the challenge by touting other accomplishments and self-acclamations. It was finally during our HOME group time when another member called me out specifically and said it didn't seem like I was really living into my own lesson very well. It was one of those spiritual and emotional wind-out-of-my-sails moments, when my breath left me. Not to be too dramatic, but in some ways I felt like Peter after the third time he denied knowing Jesus. Then I told my HOME group this as we proceeded to work through our study on marriage: "One thing I see over and over again is that whenever I start teaching and focusing on a particular sin or lesson, the more it seems Satan is apt to attack me in those very areas. Be on guard..."
It's true. Often we think we'll be protected just by subjecting ourselves to a truth. But the truth is, Satan doesn't want us to learn, grow, or resist, and often finds very crafty ways to sneak right in the middle of it and reroute us while we believe we're still making great progress.
So the lesson is, whether we're working on humility, patience, resisting temptation, forgiveness, to be aware that it's a little bit like dancing onto an ant pile. Stirring the nest must be done with great care. We may succeed at eradicating the sin or pest, only when we keep on guard, immerse ourselves in prayer, do it over time, listen to others, and resist arrogance. Only then do we stand a chance against the ants!
More to come!
Jason <><
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