Don’t be a dumb fish:

 

There are a lot of fish in our pond.  You don’t see most of them, but they are there – the larger ones further out into the deep, tiny ones by the shore.  You can see thousands of minnies of various sizes all along the banks of the pond throughout late Spring and most of the summer.  Anyone know why they are there at the edge?

 

The shallow shoreline is a safe haven for them.  The larger fish can’t reach them as the water isn’t deep enough for them to get to them.  As long as they stay near the shoreline, they are safe.

 

Unfortunately I witness a lot of deaths each time I run my 4 wheeler or lawn mower by them on the grass.  They panic at the ground vibrations and the sight of the monster prowling along the bank and without thought, they speed away to deeper water – into the darkness.  Some don’t get more than a few feet until they are swallowed up by bigger fish who have been lying in wait in the deeper water – gone forever.  It saddens me watching a life – any life snuffed out before its time.

 

What can we learn from this?  Basically the same lesson can be learned in two different issues of life.

 

  1. Young people.   You are at an age when you are still under the protection of your parents.  They set rules like staying near the safety of the bank (home, family, etc.) because they know about the danger lurking in the deep.  You can choose (wisely) to remain under that protection and have greater opportunity to grow up to become the person God intended you to be or you can choose (unwisely) to ignore those warnings and venture off into the deep.  Should you choose to venture into the deep, be assured many dangers await.  It might be something as simple yet serious as tempting you to smoke cigarettes.  It might lead to worse things like alcohol or drug use.  Girls may be sexually abused if they get into the wrong situation.  Worse thing is you could end up a statistic as many of those big “fish” are only out to harm and even destroy those who venture into their lairs.  Girls need to be sure they are not making it too easy for the prey that lurks in the deep and the dark. 

 

  1. Christians:  You may have made a commitment to follow Jesus the rest of your life and on into eternity; you may desire to be what God wants you to be and you may think you are doing okay – that you are safe in your heavenly Father’s protective arms.  But you, too, begin to wander away from the safety of the bank (the place set apart from the world), wrapped up in other things or just not taking the time, or your position with Christ as seriously as you should.  You begin to spend less time with Him and His people—you ask less and less what He wants you to be doing and go about doing what you want.  You don’t take Him as seriously as you should.  For some it is sudden and unexpected – you are swallowed up by the world and its idols and don’t even know how it happened.  You only need to let down your guard for a moment.  For others it is a gradual drifting away from the place of safety.  You may think the things you have heard about staying close to the bank are overstated and not as serious as some would have you believe.  You may think you can handle things yourself.  You may have an unrealistic sense of security away from the bank until one day you open your eyes and wonder how you got into the scary deep and wonder if you can possibly make it back through dangerous waters. 

 

What can you do?  If you haven’t wandered from the bank (safety of family, home, church, friends, Jesus), don’t!  If you have, get back where you belong and stay there.  God will help you handle any situation you may be in – He has the answers to all questions and needs.

 

Don’t be a dumb fish.





Everwind Ranch
Joan Wurst
15871 Sturgis Road
Union City, PA 16438
814-438-3903
EMAIL



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