Family Devotion: Week of October 27
You know what a Praying Mantis is, right? If you said the skinny, green bug, with an alien-shaped head and long arms that look as if it’s in a praying position, you’re right! Now, have you ever heard of a Horsehair Worm? Probably not. These worms (or parasites) are a deadly enemy to the Praying Mantis. The Horsehair worm starts as a tiny parasite in the belly of a harmless bug. When the Praying Mantis eats that harmless bug with the parasite, it’s not long before the Horsehair Worm takes over.
What makes the Horsehair Worm dangerous is it releases a protein in the Praying Mantis that begins to take over its mind. Eventually, the parasite leads the Praying Mantis to water, makes the Praying Mantis drown itself, so that the parasite’s life cycle can continue.
All because the Praying Mantis consumed something it thought was harmless.
Gross right? But we aren’t so different. What we consume eventually affects our thoughts and behaviors too. It can influence our thinking, and then we find ourselves doing and saying things we never imagined! You may think you have control over it, or that it is seemingly harmless, but give it time, and you will find it has taken over your thoughts, actions, and energy.
Romans 12:2 NKJV
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Paul is teaching us that to not be conformed (shaped, molded) to the ways of the world, we must be transformed by the renewing of our MIND! How do we do that? We don’t consume the things that feed our sinful nature, AND we “consume” the things that feed our spirit:
- God’s Word
- Prayer
- The Preached Word
- Godly Influence
- Worship
What we take in shapes our behavior. We were originally made in the image of God who is the ultimate Creator. In a world where you can consume anything your flesh desires, strive to be a creator of good things!
Questions:
- Have you ever had an opinion about something JUST by what you heard of it? Why?
- What is something you’re consuming that you know isn’t leading you in the right direction?
- What is something you’re consuming that IS leading you in the right direction?
- What is something you thought was harmless, but ended up taking over?
