As the days begin to lengthen and some temperatures top seventy, Spring Fever begins to spread more quickly than COVD-19. It infects everyone from preschool students to senior citizens and from accountants to pastors. I say, “Bring it on!”
As the crocuses and daffodils herald springtime’s approach, most of us begin to anticipate the enjoyment of activities that accompany warmer weather. For some it may be gardening while for others it could be baseball or soccer. Some just enjoy sitting outdoors while others, like me, eagerly anticipate chasing turkeys.
There are many people who are also looking forward to spending some time swinging clubs and chasing those little white balls all over the short green grass. While some diehards have been golfing throughout the winter, most are awaiting the sunnier days of the next month or two. I’ve only golfed a few times, but I’ve done it enough to lose several balls and appreciate the challenge and difficulty of the sport.
Golfers rely on the greenskeepers to maintain their courses in tiptop shape. During the heat of summertime, it is quite challenging to keep fairways mowed, trees trimmed, leaves raked, shrubs mulched, and weeds controlled. A little sleep, a little slumber, and soon the course is overgrown leaving golfers to putt elsewhere.
A friend of mine who used to do this work shared a story with me a while back about a course caretaker in New England who was battling grubs that were killing the grass. He employed one of the most effective pesticides available which did indeed kill large numbers of insect larvae…along with approximately 700 Canadian Geese that consumed the poisoned worms.
Imagine the horror of neighboring landowners who normally have to clean up goose manure now having to handle and dispose of large dead birds. While solving one problem, the groundskeeper inadvertently created another even bigger one. Perhaps the pesticide’s label might have warned the greenskeeper of collateral and unintentional damage. Perhaps not. Either way, he took considerable heat for this fowl move.
Although we may not have wiped out large flocks of birds, we’ve all caused problems we didn’t intend. At times, we may have even been trying to do something good, only to have it backfire or domino out of control in ways we didn’t expect.
In Luke 14, Jesus advised those who would follow Him to consider all potential ramifications beforehand. Although the benefits are eternal and the blessings are overwhelming, there are times when faithful disciples will endure difficulties and perhaps even physical pain or death.
Jesus told His followers that obeying Him could cause family strife and broken relationships as some would resist His ways. He also warned of persecution that could ultimately result in martyrdom. In the very same passage, Jesus tells us that to follow Him we must take up our crosses, which were instruments of execution. Although no one desires those outcomes, they are sometimes the consequences of faithful discipleship.
But Jesus also warned of the consequences of not following Him. Economists know that there are costs of doing nothing. Choosing to reject and disobey Jesus will result in far worse and far more eternal problems than deciding to accept Him.
Ultimately we all have grubs in our lives. We have sin that undermines even our best intentions and actions. Thankfully, Jesus provides a treatment that will kill this sin and alleviate its temporal effects while eliminating its eternal impacts as well. There may be some short-term difficulties to endure but He has promised to steer us safely through those also.
As we consider how to respond to life’s problems, let us consider the unintentional consequences our solutions might create and seek to resolve them in ways that benefit everyone involved. That is only possible with God’s help through His Holy Spirit. Invite Him to treat your sin infestation today.
Blessings, George