Snakes in the Grass

 

Snake in the grass. A term that was first coined by the great poet Virgil. Someone who seems harmless but in all actuality is dangerous. It is times where we don’t seem them coming that they become even more dangerous.

I had a friend of mine once tell me of a little boy he knew that got bit on the foot by a copperhead snake. He instinctively stamped on the snake only to find out that doing so may have saved the boy’s life since the hospital needed it to make an antivenom.

In ministry, we find a lot of these little kids being bitten by snakes in the grass. That new guy who just started into ministry, or the young minister who has been protected their whole ministry and never set out on their own. The perfect targets for the snakes in the grass. Those people who come to church, not to worship, rather to just find the new drama. Those who show up to see what damage they can cause. Those who forget that they came to the house of God to worship the Creator of the Garden and not act like the fallen serpent.

Some of the snakes make a noise so you know that they aren’t happy. These are the rattlers. Some make a big show when they feel threatened, these are your cobras, some of them bite you out of nowhere, and some get you when you feel the safest.

Fellow ministers, I want to give you a warning that I had to learn early. The snakes are in the grass and they are looking for your heels. They are not going for the neck, rather somewhere that you wouldn’t expect. I warn you to find your mentor and beg for help. The seasoned minister who knows these snakes for it is those who have seen snakes that you can rely on. The ones who know the snakes by name and can tell by the colors whether you should worry or not. The ones who know how to remedy the situation and get you back to full capacity. These are the ones that I plead with you to find.

Often, these same ministers have been bitten before, and many before you. This is a hope to you, my fellow ministers, for they have survived the bite and so can you.

My final warnings to you all is this: If you can’t see the snakes in your grass, don’t think your field is safe. Either the snake is closer than they appear, or you are about to be bitten. Never wind up being the snake.