Trap

























If you set a trap for others,
    you will get caught in it yourself.
If you roll a boulder down on others,
    it will crush you instead.- Proverbs 26:27

 I love watching Road Runner, this strange cartoon, where Wile E. Coyote tries to capture this odd bird. Every time he attempts to do so, he uses elaborate schemes to trap the Road Runner. Not only do these schemes fail to work in trapping the bird, they always backfire and hurt Wile E. Coyote. (who admittedly seems strangely robust to ultimate destruction!)

Yet this funny cartoon brings God's word into play. God warns that a "life lived to bring others down, will ultimately bring you down." Think about it, you may have witnessed it. Spite and bitterness eventually hurts the ones who express this, more than it hurts the ones they are bitter against.

If we live with an attitude of desiring the worst for others, we see this sickness of spirit coming to dominate us.

Finally God is warning about the total destruction. Your life of trying to trap others means that you will be trapped in your own sin. Eternal torment after death is your outcome.

Happily God is forgiving. This very proverb warns those who have "ears to listen."

If you take the warning and cry out, God will rescue you. He will save you, he will redeem you.

This is the good news the carpenter came to bring. Put away your tricks and traps, call on the Carpenter of Shalom.





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