Surprise!
Surprise!
I hate surprises. Actually, that's not true. I would not mind a bit if you walked up and said "surprise!" and handed me money. It's being startled that I am not all that excited about. I do not like scary movies; I don't like things jumping out at me; and I have dented the head of a friend or two who were foolish enough to sneak up and grab at me. I guess with all that fight-or-flee stuff, I am just about always in the fight category.

I don't know if you caught the mention of firewood I made last week, but I have a huge pile of it out alongside my house. Four cords, roughly, that has been curing for about four years now. It's finally time to stack it up, rather I have finally gotten around to it, and after bringing home some pallets from work and hammering them into one long off-the-ground platform, I was ready to get the job done last week. I hired Dave and two of his friends to make the effort for me. It worked out just fine as long as two things happened. One, I made sure the stacking part was supervised constantly by me. The boys would just throw the wood hither and yon if I didn't keep an eye on them. Last year they stacked some wood for me as well, and I didn't watch all that carefully. You can imagine how stable that pile was! It wasn't a mistake I was going to repeat this year!

The other thing I had to prevent was the boys chasing after a certain critter that lives in my woodpile. Last year I paid them a flat rate, but this year I learned my lesson and paid them by the hour instead. They are much more motivated when you tell them to get to work or you won't be paying them! Even so, this creature and his friends that live in my woodpile kept distracting my workers. Can you guess what it was? A snake, of course! There are at least two of them in my woodpile for sure, maybe more. Grrrrrr!

Remember the babbling I made about hating to be startled! Well, I think that's why I hate snakes so much. They are so ... snaky. They lay there unmoving, but watching your every move. You reach out to grab a log, or you aren't careful where you walk. Suddenly they lunge away from you. It always makes me jump right out of my skin! I know they are helpful; I know they eat the toads and salamanders and mice that hang around my house. I know they are not going to hurt me. But why do they always have to do their best to surprise me? They slither around, looking guilty. They slip into the smallest holes. They are underneath whatever it is I am about to move. They aren't slimy at all, but they sure seem like they are slimy and icky and disgusting.

When I was small, I heard many a preacher say that of course God turned the devil into a snake. After all, they are "evil" creatures. What is it about snakes that every boy in the country is excited about killing them? And they are underhanded and sneaky. Sneaky like only a snake can be. And a forked tongue means a lying tongue, yes?

Well, I think I agree a lot with that kind of thinking. A snake is a good fit for the devil, because it's a lot like him. Snakes don't blink, and the devil doesn't rest, either, from looking for ways to trick us. The devil can sure bite, too! and poison us, of we get too close to him, which could be the death of us. They both get into unexpected places, and can latch onto us when we least expect it. Most people are afraid of the devil, and most people are afraid of snakes, too. There must be something to that! Yes, some people try to say that snakes are "a beauty, eh!" in their own way, or misunderstood, or our "friends." I have heard people try to paint the devil in a better light, too. It doesn't matter to me. A snake is a snake. And the devil is the devil. If you play with either one, sooner or later you're going to get bit. I guarantee it!

Randy

PS - Next week, an e-mail to me from the devil! I really mean it!

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Genesis 3:13-15 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly thy shall go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Numbers 21:6-9 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he taketh away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a sepent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

Proverbs 23-31-32 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.

Ecclesiastes 10:8 He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.

Amos 5:18-19 Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into a house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.

Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.