Sized Up

Do any of you have pets you don’t mind sleeping with? Some people enjoy

snuggling with everything from the smallest pet gerbil to the biggest of dogs.

The most shocking story I heard was about a little girl whose parents

allowed her to sleep with her pet snake. It was said that at night the snake

would stretch itself out to the full length of her body. They later learned it was

elongating itself in preparation for eventually consuming her. While searching for

this article to validate what I recalled I came across another article discussing an

incident in which one person reported to their veterinarian that their pet snake

had stopped eating. This person also slept with their snake. The veterinarian

then warned the owner that it was preparing to consume its next prey…the

owner.

I have one question: Are you sleeping with a snake? For the sake of this article,

a snake can be anyone or anything in your life that is sizing you up with the end

goal of consuming or attacking you. Snakes are exotic creatures, not domicile.

And though not all snakes exhibit the same hostile behavior, to bring enlightenment

to our hearts about the looming dangers of getting too close, the one's I'm referring

to are the more vicious ones. Now, I’m not calling anyone in your life a snake.

As Pastor Val and Co-Pastor Beulah Williams would say, “This is a like-as” scenario

or analogy. If you are single, the snake could be symbolic of a man or woman you

should not be in a relationship with. If you’re married, it could be the same thing.

Then thinking about it a little further, it could be any type of relationship that possess

imminent danger.

In my humble opinion, the problem with having a snake as a pet is this: It

cannot be handled as you would a traditional, domesticated animal. Therefore,

you cannot approach it with the same mind as you would say a dog or cat.

Snakes exist and thrive in environments outside of the home. The only way one

can size you up is when you change its proximity to you. It’s one thing for a

snake to be out in its natural habitat, but it’s another thing to BRING it into your

personal space. It may start out with you bringing it home and putting it in a mock

environment to emulate where it came from (restrictions on interaction). Then,

you can become so comfortable with it that it’s no longer enough to just look at

it, feed it, and occasionally hold it. Before you know it you’re sleeping next to it.

Just like sleeping with a snake, when you are in a close relationship not fitting

for you as a man or woman of God, it is only a matter of time before an attack

occurs. Imagine all of the opportunities you spend with others, the continuous

phone conversations, social media exchanges, etc. It takes time to get sized up.

But when you lie down with the “snake” and let it coil itself around you, it is not

treating you as a “loving owner”. It’s not designed to do so. At some point, it can

consume or even crush you. In a similar manner to the snake I referenced in the

beginning, once a person has had enough time to gather information about you

and take advantage of opportunities to be in your presence they can turn and

subdue. Be careful how close you allow a snake to be to you in your life. Take

heed when you notice a change in their diet. Also, don’t allow yourself to be

misled just because the snake doesn’t attack right away. You can have a relationship

with it for so long that you become tricked into thinking it will not hurt you. Don’t be

deceived, it’s still a snake! It’s not your friend or whatever you may want to call

it! Finally, don’t overlook its traits and be deceived by its charm. Proverbs 31:30

New King James Version (NKJV) “Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a

woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.”

Other scriptures to consider:

1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV)

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks

about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Proverbs 6:27 (NKJV)

Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?

Proverbs 22:3 (NKJV)

A prudent man FORSEES evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are

punished.

Selah