Wise as a Serpent

 

In Matthew 10:16 Jesus is preparing to send his apostles out to preach and he gives them this advice: "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."

The phrase 'wise as serpents' has always intrigued me. Each time I come across this phrase it compels me to research it more and see how it applies to my life. 

One tip I learned for studying the scriptures is to find the definition of the words and then replace those words with the definitions to see if it gives you more clarity about the meaning. I started with some words in Matthew 10:16:

sheep: 

1. a domesticated ruminant animal with a thick woolly coat and curving horns. It is kept in flocks for its wool and meat and is proverbial for its tendency to follow others in the flock.

 2. a person who is too easily influenced or led.

wolf: 

1. a wild carnivorous mammal of the dog family, living and hunting in packs.

2. used figuratively to refer to a rapacious, ferocious, or voracious person or thing. 

serpent:

1. a large snake.

2. a sly or treacherous person, especially one who exploits a position of trust in order to betray it.

dove:

1. a stocky seed or fruit-eating bird with a small head, short legs, and a cooing voice.

2. a person who advocates peaceful or conciliatory policies, especially in foreign affairs.

midst:

1. in the middle of

wise:

1. having or showing experience, knowledge, and good judgment.

2. responding sensibly or shrewdly to a particular situation.

harmless:

1. not able or likely to cause harm.

2. inoffensive.

If we use the definitions to replace the words, the verse now reads:

Behold, I send you out as a person who is too easily influenced and led, into the middle of a pack of rapacious, ferocious, or voracious person(s) or thing(s). Therefore, have or show experience, knowledge, and good judgement, be sensible and shrewd like a sly person, and as inoffensive as a person who advocates peaceful or conciliatory policies.  

Remember, Jesus is sending his newly called apostles out to preach at a time when they are still trying to understand all his teachings themselves. They are young in their ministries and will face criticism and challenges from those that believe they are well versed in the ways of God. They are like sheep, easily influenced and led, sometimes by fear. He is sending them into the middle of a holy battle of sorts with the wolves, the rapacious, ferocious, or voracious Pharisees and Sadducees.  

His advice is for them to show experience, knowledge, and good judgment, to be sensible and shrewd like a serpent (a sly person) but cause no harm like a dove (a peaceful person). What advantage is there to being wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove? 

One scripture commentator shared these thoughts: "When Jesus told the Twelve to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves, He laid down a general principle about the technique of kingdom work. As we take the gospel to a hostile world, we must be wise (avoiding the snares set for us), and we must be innocent (serving the Lord blamelessly). Jesus was not suggesting that we stoop to deception but that we should model some of the serpent's famous shrewdness in a positive way. Wisdom does not equal dishonesty, and innocence does not equal gullibility."

I believe Jesus was helping them recognize the importance of discernment.  The online definition for discernment is the ability to judge well. I believe the quote at the top of this post sums it up best: The heart of spiritual discernment is being able to distinguish the voice of the world from the voice of God. 

Although the world has changed in many ways, it is still a hostile world when it comes to the gospel. Disciples of Christ are still persecuted and killed in some parts of the world. Even in what is considered the 'civilized' world Christians are often mocked and threatened because of their beliefs. We see this with sanctity of life issues, sexual promiscuity, religious freedoms, gender identity, and other topics that the world says are old-fashioned and out of date. We are scorned by the wolves (some members of political, educational, scientific, and even religious groups) and told we are wrong and need to change or else!

We are in a holy battle in these modern days, and we must teach the truth. This is where the gift of discernment comes in to play. This is where the shrewdness of the serpent helps us navigate this world. This is where being harmless as a dove allows us to have the conversations that need to be had in a way that does no harm. 

Discernment comes from increasing knowledge and having experiences. Here are a few things I learned about how to grow in your ability to discern:

*Pray for the gift of discernment. Discernment is considered a gift of the Spirit, so pray to have the spirit of discernment upon you. Always a good tactic for tough conversations and situations.

*Learn about people and how they work. We are all very similar in many ways, if you are feeling something, there's a good chance that others are feeling the same things, even if they are on the opposite side of an argument. If you understand this, you can use this as a tool to connect.

*Approach people and circumstances with a realistic attitude. There will be times when you feel impressed to move forward with a conversation and there will be times when you will feel the need to stop a conversation before it leads to a situation that is not healthy. It's okay to walk away and try again at another time.

*Know your topic and verify resources before having conversations. Research and know for yourself.  Be willing to put in the time and effort necessary to gain the knowledge you need. Make sure that you know where the materials you study come from and if they are a reputable source. There are way too many resources available to us that are filled with garbage research. We are responsible for the knowledge we share.

*Do not be swayed by the force of other people's arguments and personalities. It's easy to let fear, or intimidation affect us. This is a tactic of the wolves in this world. Our natural reaction is usually to avoid situations that bring about fear and confrontation. Understanding that can help us when we need to bolster our courage and stand for what is right. It's also easy to be swayed by the serpents of this world. They are cunning and know what to say or not to say to get us on their side. It's okay to take some time to think about what someone has said to you, to process, but it's really important for you to do your own due diligence to know for yourself.

*Recognize your emotions and keep them in check. We are emotional beings. Learning to recognize our emotions and discern if they will help a situation is important. If you find your emotions are getting in the way, it's okay to walk away and gather your thoughts and feelings. The wolves and serpents of this world like to use our emotions against us. Be aware of this and take action to prevent this.

*Learn to adapt to people and circumstances. As you hone your ability to discern you will grow. You will learn to see how different individuals approach a topic, how they learn, how they react to different stimulus. This is a gift. Teach the way people learn, it will mean the world to them.

*Know and be yourself. Live with integrity. Don't seek attention - seek to make people and situations better without taking the credit for doing so. Do good for the sake of doing good. Don't give your enemy fuel to use against you.

*Know your enemy. Sun Tzu stated in the Art of War, "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle." Know the tactics of your opponent, this allows you to prepare for encounters that lead to a positive outcome.

The wisdom of Jesus' words still stands today. I can see the blessings of living this way in a hostile world like ours. I'll continue to seek the voice of God over the noise of this world. I will watch the wolves and serpents of this world and prepare to battle while avoiding the traps and teach them through wisdom and peace. I will seek the spirit of discernment and hope that I can make a difference in this crazy world of ours.