Beware the Snake

We are called to mount a resistance against the power of our spiritual enemy, utilizing the tools and the power that God has made available to us.  There is encouragement found in the 4th chapter of James:
7Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.8Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

We can resist the devil, but we don't engage in that sort of spiritual battle lightly or half-heartedly. It is very serious when the enemy of our souls is involved - he desires to defeat us in our pursuit of God's best, and he wants to lure us through deception, to try to get us to experiment with those thoughts and activities that God has proclaimed to be evil, in order that we might be rendered less effective in our Christian life.  So, we have to rely on God for strength, to turn away from temptation and realize that in ourselves, we cannot walk in the victory that God intends, but in Him, we can experience His powerful resources.

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In 2nd Corinthians 11, Paul issues a word of warning against the luring of the enemy, who would seek to pollute our devotion to Christ and lead us astray:
2For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.3But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.4For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted--you may well put up with it!

The MTV Video Music Awards have gained a dubious reputation for raunchy performances and out-of-the-box antics.  And, while our friends at the Parents Television Council say that Sunday night's awards show was a bit toned down from last year's debacle, there was still apparently content that would not be considered family-friendly.

One such performance, which I have read about, but not seen, is the opening number featuring the irreverent Nicki Minaj.   There were plans to use a live snake in that performance, but during a Friday rehearsal, a backup dancer was taken to the hospital after being bitten by Rocky, a six-foot boa constrictor.

CBS quotes an MTV report that the snake was perched on the dancer's shoulder when it bit her arm.  Boa constrictors are not venomous, and the dancer's injuries were not life-threatening. In fact, she went on to perform the song with Minaj Sunday night.   Rocky did not, although Minaj said it the performance would have been better with a snake, according to the CBS report.

Taylor Swift referenced the incident during her live "Shake It Off" performance. During the song's bridge, Swift decided against jumping off a ledge as her dancers held their arms out for her. She stopped the music and said, "I don't care if it's VMAs, I'm not jumping off. People are getting bit by snakes, it's dangerous."

Snakes are not new to the VMAs. In 2001, Britney Spears wore a snake for her exotic, jungle-themed performance of "I'm a Slave 4 U."  Justin Bieber attended the VMAs in 2011 with then-girlfriend Selena Gomez and his small pet snake, Johnson.

Then, you have another snake incident where the outcome was much more severe. The Daily Mail reports that a chef in China preparing a dish made from cobra flesh died after the snake bit his hand - 20 minutes after he had severed it from its body.

Chef Peng Fan had been preparing a special dish made from Indochinese spitting cobra, a rare delicacy. When he was throwing the cobra's head away into a bin, it bit him, injecting Peng with its flesh-killing, neurotoxic venom.

The snake was being diced up to be made into snake soup, which is a delicacy in Guangdong and a much sought after dish in the province's high-end restaurants.

A police spokesman said:  "It is a highly unusual case but it appears to be just an accident...There was nothing that could be done to save the man. Only the anti-venom could have helped but this was not given in time."

Snake expert Yang Hong-chang - who has spent 40 years studying cobras - told the Daily Mail that all reptiles can function for up to an hour after losing body parts, or even their entire body.  He said, "It is perfectly possible that the head remained alive and bit Peng's hand."

"By the time a snake has lost its head, it's effectively dead as basic body functions have ceased, but there is still some reflexive action."

So, the watchword, in a practical sense, is to exercise an abundance of caution when dealing with a variety of snakes - they are definitely not to be taken lightly.   And, spiritually speaking, when you consider that Satan took the form of a serpent in the garden of Eden, there are definitely some lessons in the spiritual realm that you could take away from these two incidents.

For one thing, you don't play with the enemy.  When you dabble in activity that is not pleasing to God, you enter the domain of the devil, and there will be certain negative consequences that result. So, when you bring elements of the sinful into your life, there is danger that accompanies it.  So, be careful that you are not accepting the influences of the enemy - take the necessary steps to protect yourself.

And, this chef in China lost his life because of a reflexive action for a snake that I am sure he assumed was dead and not a threat to his life.  In spiritual warfare, we can't develop a sense of overconfidence when we experience victory.  When we walk in triumph over a certain area or areas in our lives, we can rejoice in the power of God released in us.  But, we can never think that we will never have to fight the battle again. 

Satan is ruthless, sin is relentless, and we have to be ever-watchful for the presence of the enemy of our souls. We may think we have won, but the reality is that we may have experienced a temporary advantage, but ultimately we will gain our victory over the devil when we are home with Jesus.  Thankfully, our enemy has been defeated by Jesus, and He makes available His resources in order to resist the power of the enemy.