BEWARE OF THE LITTLE FOXES

BEWARE OF THE LITTLE FOXES

As a gardener one of the things that make me sad is to see my plants not doing well. My greatest enemy right now is the snail. I never even knew how dangerous they were until I began gardening a few years ago.

I would come out to my garden in the morning and just notice holes in some of the leaves. In particular, my artillery plant (of the clearweed specie) seemed to be a favourite of the snails. I had it planted in a garden trough and in some smaller pots because when in full bloom, they are a real beauty to behold. But I suddenly noticed that the one in the garden trough kept getting smaller. I did not understand what was going on. I didn’t realise that the snails would hide during the day and come out for their destructive work of eating the tiny leaves at night.

Well one morning, being overly concerned, I started combing my fingers through the no longer dense foliage and crack! My nail hit something hard. And behold a shell albeit tiny but the snail in it was quite active. I later discovered that they were all over the garden. And then we began to pick them out one by one until we got rid of all of them. That is an exercise we have to do from time to time to prevent such reoccurrences.

Lately as I remembered this, I was reminded of a scripture in Song of Solomon that goes like this:

“Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.” Song of Solomon 2:15 NIV

The word vineyard here is significant of intimate relationships. Any blossoming relationship is a threat to the devil. And it is just as simple as that. So the devil sets up foxes to destroy thriving relationships with things that might first appear harmless yet are capable of great destruction. Foxes are quite playful in nature so it is possible to be carried away by that attribute of theirs and not see the real destruction they are doing.

We are all prone to being exposed to these “little foxes”, therefore we must not be ignorant of the potential damage they are capable of doing.

Jesus said He is the vine and we are the branches. Jesus expects us to spend time with Him and this can only be in the Word. That is the best way we can be fruitful in everything we do. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 NLT

“Little foxes” will always attack blossoming vines. If the vine is dry and scanty they have nothing to rummage through. So they go away. But if they find a juicy vine, they will proceed to suck the life out of it. They can attack our thriving relationships with our spouses, our parents, our children, our siblings, our colleagues at work, brethren in the house of God and ultimately our relationship with Jesus, our LORD.

I heard of a couple who were barely speaking to each other, not because they were having quarrels but because they were spending too much time on social media and on the screen. These were seemingly harmless habits. They would ask each other how their day went, they would seat at table together for meals while one or the other would have ear phones plugged in listening to something or other. No fighting! They would sometimes go out to events together but the real depth of their relationship was gradually being eroded because of the little fox of excessive screen time on both sides. Some women play games on their devices till very late into the night not even caring to spend time with their family.  Some parents do not have time for their children. Some of us are declining our productivity in the work place because we are focusing on everything but the solution to problems in the company. Especially now that the holiday season is approaching, ladies, please let us not go into shopping frenzies. Life will continue after the holidays and so will bills. Let us be guided.

We can avoid future stress and breakdowns in our relationships if we chase away the “little foxes” now before they build and burrow comfortably in our vines.

Let us cut out the late nights on Netflix. 

Let us minimise the screen time. (Including football championships.) 

Let us pay more attention to our spouses and children. 

Let us study the Word of God more. 

Let us meditate on the Word more. 

Let us be humble. 

Let us cut out the gossip sessions. They are very unprofitable. 

Let us consciously be grateful and thankful to God for all that He has done. 

 

WHAT ARE YOUR LITTLE FOXES?

LET US PROTECT OUR VINESS AND CHASE OUT THE LITTLE FOXES.

 

OLUYINKA EGO-MARTINS ©