Jesus had a way of saying some pretty edgy things. For instance, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:25); telling His disciples to feed a crowd of 5000+ people when there was only five little loaves and two fish available (Matthew 14:16); or, “…Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6:53) And, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16)

In the midst of global pandemic and unrest, we are inundated with “educated opinions”, decisive “points-of-view”, and many conflicting interpretations of scientific data (or scientific opinions). I think that self-righteousness and judgmental attitudes are at an all-time high—amongst Christians and non-Christians alike. So, I’ve been considering Godly wisdom a lot lately, which has nothing to do with opinions, viewpoints, or even what the culture of this world deems as wisdom.

It is easy to relate to the innocence of a dove, but why serpents? I can imagine it has something to do with his reference being a colloquialism that people could recognize. However, I also acknowledge that Jesus was very intentional in the words He spoke—they often had a spiritual depth that went beyond the obvious.

When I hear the word “serpents”, I immediately think of the serpent, “And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” (Revelation 12:9)

And we are to be as wise as serpents?

As I was mulling over these verses, I thought about “the serpent” and thinking that his (fallen) angels certainly could be considered “serpents”. I am not fond at all of stretching scripture to make a point, but at the same time, I want to hear the Holy Spirit speak to me in a way that gives insight. In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church, he warns them (and us) that we are engaged in spiritual warfare. He identifies satan’s organizational structure: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly [unseen] places.” (Ephesians 6::12) The Holy Spirit counsels us to, “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. [To] put on the whole armor of God [so that we] may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” (verses 10-11)

In these verses, we are given two of the enemy’s tactics: he seeks to deceive, and he devises schemes. The apostle Peter wrote, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) We also know that he is a murderer and liar: “…he was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)

I think one aspect of being as wise as serpents is being wise to the strategies of the serpent, our enemy. We have a formidable foe, but our God is greater. The enemy is cunning; yet we can counter his onslaughts and subterfuges with “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17)

We are living in turbulent times; and, not only in the United States, but all over the world, the forces of hell are raging. Between the cool, calm, collectedness of the highly educated and the highly opinionated ranks of the “media-educated” masses, there is a proud, self-righteous attitude of “I am right, my opinion is right, and you are wrong, sorely wrong, and you are deluded.” And even among Christians, self-righteous, proud, “I am right, and you are wrong” attitudes surface.

However, Scripture counsels us:

“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.” (Romans 12:16)

And…

“Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness,’ and again, ‘The Lord know the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.’” (1 Corinthians 3:18-20)

I am praying God will catch the wise, the influencers of this age in their craftiness and expose them, that many will recognize the intrigues of the enemy, reject the lies, and turn to the Lord.

The Psalmist gives us this wise counsel: “Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your Word.” (Psalm 119:98-101)

But Jesus didn’t stop with “wise as serpents”; He went on to say, “and innocent [harmless, NKJV] [have no self-serving agenda, AMP] as doves” (ESV)—impossible to do without an intimate knowledge of God and His Word, and the in-dwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

I’ve struggled to know how to finish this post. We absolutely need divine wisdom to navigate through the times we are living; and Godly wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord (Psalm 111:10). Almost every day I read something in the news that elicits an “wow!” response from me. If I ask myself whether I am surprised, though, I have to admit that I am not. Lawlessness, riots, suggestions of a cashless society, church attendance restricted, worship redefined or legislated against, small home group gatherings restricted—and it all sounds so reasonable in order to protect people!—gender confusion and anti-biblical standards of morality being promoted to school children. …and sadly, there is so much more.

With everything going on nowadays, of all the things that will drop me to my knees in a heartbeat is the assault that the enemy has launched against children. Abuse—physical, emotional, sexual—the appalling disregard for their lives, whether pre-birth or post birth, the early indoctrination of immorality and gender choice instead of biological determination, human trafficking… My heart’s cry is that God will send his warriors, both human and angelic, to fight for the children and deliver them from the schemes of the evil ones.

We need to heed Paul’s admonition to the church at Rome:

“You know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.” (Romans 13:11)