Serpents and Doves

Wise as the serpent and innocent as a dove.

Ever stopped to think about what this means in day to day life? Or asked yourself how do you do this? I mean, sure we get the concept. But how do you live it out in real life?

Here's somethings to consider...

Serpents

Of course most everyone understands the basic metaphor of the serpent:

- The deceiver
- The prideful
- The manipulator
- The selfish

But what do those people look like in day to day life when you put the metaphor on people around you? Well they might look like:

- The coworker who gives you bad advice, so that they get the promotion, project, or recognition instead of you
- The family member who doesn't want you to be happy, they want you to be miserable like they are
- The friend who always sabotages your relationship decisions so they can always have a better life than you
- The church friend that turns out to be a gossip
- The teammate who embarrasses you off the field

So there are the serpents. But beyond that what does it mean "to be wise as the serpent"?

Well, first I would say accept that people around you can be, will be or are like that right now in your life. Then think about what you have experienced from those people.

Now take a moment and ask yourself "How do they think?", "What goes through their head to makes them act like that?"

Once you understand the bad thoughts, you have started to learn to be wise like the serpent. We should all understand how we are hurt, how we are deceived, how we are manipulated. Because knowing how it happens and how people do that to you will help protect you from it in the future!

Doves

The reference for doves is that of innocence. And innocence is wonderful, pure, and simple often times. And we all can understand innocence. But how do you live out a life with innocence, when we're nothing close to innocent anymore... Just being real about it here...

Sometimes it’s best to just be slow. To be quiet. To let things progress at a slower rate.

Sometimes it means you don’t announce what you think or see. But instead just let God work at His time, in His ways, in His places.

This is a lesson I have had to learn personally time and time again. But I am finally getting better at it. Just because He has shown you something doesn’t automatically mean you need to share it immediately. The revelation of the information has its own season sometimes.

Best to just wait, be innocent and follow for the next directions.

Beyond that, being the innocent dove is about not being the serpent. Take a look in the mirror and look at who you are and what you have been justifying in your actions lately. Did the serpent sneak in on ya? or have you drifted towards that dove?