Recognizing Danger

1 Thessalonians 5:22 – Abstain from every form of evil. (NKJV)

One morning in late August, my wife discovered a big clump of wasps or bees on a branch of the cedar tree near the flower garden behind our house. She called me to have a look at it, and I thought that it was a nest being built by wasps. Not being satisfied with my answer, she checked with a couple of neighbours, and they told her that they were swarming honey bees.

Our next-door neighbour called a beekeeper who brought a beehive in the afternoon, stunned the bees with smoke, cut off the branch with the bees, and put most of them into the hive. He told us that swarming is the process by which a new honey bee colony is formed. The queen bee leaves the colony with about 60{8395b6ce96fcf25a14d80edc3b65c36a8995b6c1ba5f8c16ac11d8adaa79f35b} of the worker bees.

A new queen takes over the old hive and carries on where the old one left off, he said. The beekeeper told us that he figured that the group in our tree consisted of about 8,000 bees. He left the hive there until dusk and by that time, most of the bees were in the hive. He gave us explicit instructions to stay away from the tree and explained the obvious danger of getting stung, which, in some cases, is fatal.

I thought about that. When we get too close to the evil in this world — habits, dangerous places, situations — we may get stung, and in some cases, it can be fatal. On the other hand, Jesus wants us to be lights in a dark world, rather than withdrawing totally from it. When we try to witness to people in the workforce or to neighbours or friends in the community, quite often, because of opposition, it is very difficult to talk to them about our faith. It can become quite a temptation to back off and simply view their lifestyle as acceptable.

John 17:14-16 – I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. (NKJV)

John 12:46 – I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. (NKJV)

Jesus tells us that we should recognize the danger of adopting a similar lifestyle and that we should encourage others to change their way of life. We should tell them with words and the way we live that we are believers in Christ Jesus and how that affects our lives and our actions.

Matthew 5:16 – Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (NKJV)

Prayer: Our Father in heaven, there are so many times when we struggle with temptations to do what is not right in Your sight. We ask for the discernment to recognize all things or situations which would place us in danger, and for the strength to be faithful to Christ. When we meet people who are not of the Christian faith, give us the ability to talk to them about You, our Saviour and Lord. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

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