Wise as serpents - Harmless as doves - Matthew 10:16

Welcome!  We are praying to the One and Only true and living God in the name of His Son Jesus Christ for our friends in France and those around the world and those of our own who are suffering from ignorance, hate, and violence.  Oh that the world would come to believe and know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God!  What a difference this knowledge would make in the world. 

It seems that the world in general has always chosen ignorance over knowledge, hate and revenge over love and violence over peace, repentance, and forgiveness.  We are often tempted to do the same.  We must not yield to the enemy’s devises.  We must find a way to follow Jesus’ instructions in Matthew 10:16 to “be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”  We must always provide for our family just as the Holy Spirit commands in 1 Timothy 5:8; “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”  At the same time we must love our enemies, bless them, do them good, and pray for them (Matthew 6:44-45).  We must be wise and protect ourselves and our families from evil and at the same time never wish to harm anyone but rather to help them.

God has established a way for evil to be judged, disciplined, punished, and eliminated.  In Romans 13 we read about the responsibilities of the nation’s governing authorities.  God has placed people in positions of authority and given them the right to praise those who do good.  He has also given the governing authorities (not me and you) the power to “execute wrath” on those who practice evil.  The passage tells us that the local, state, and federal government is positioned by God as an “avenger” who “does not bear the sword in vain.” 

You and I have the responsibility and the authority to provide for our individual families and at the same time we must yield to God’s governing authorities to provide for the protection of our national security.  Not too long ago a Christian brother who is in state law enforcement talked with me about the dilemma he faces every day in his position.  The day before we met, he had to take someone’s life in the line of duty as an agent of the state.  I explained to him that in his position, he was God’s minister on that day executing wrath on one who was practicing evil, that he did not “bear the sword (In this case the sword was his firearm) in vain.”  I thanked him for his service to me and to our society.  His service keeps us safe.  Jesus said it best in the verse we saw above, “Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”