Going Green: "BE" Vitamins - Part 4

"BE" vitamins enhance our life. They make us better people, and this "BE" vitamin is no different. You've seen the caplets with two colors, that is what this week's "BE" vitamin looks like. It has two different parts that make it one.

Jesus sent his disciples out into a dangerous land. This environment was created by Jesus, both theoretically and literally. Literally, because He is the Son of God, who was here in the beginning of creation. Theoretically, because Jesus had done so much to cause a lot of stirring and strife amongst the religious people that they were out to get Him. This environmental setting caused the disciples to be in an area that was dangerous.

Jesus knew this was the 'temperature' of the land, so Jesus is letting them know that they are going to be "sheep among wolves", from Matthew 10:16. As they are sheep among wolves, they need to be sharp and innocent at the same time, so Jesus challenges them to be "shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves" - the two part 'vitamin'.

If we are on an extreme, then problems can occur. If we lean to much toward the shrewd side, we can become manipulative and controlling. If we lean to much to the innocence side, we can become naive and unrealistic. There must be a balance.

As we examined this passage yesterday, here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

1. Examine yourself - Do you tend to lean to one side or the other with situations? Be conscious of situations you're in and how you operate. Ask God to help you balance the two.
2. "BE" Shrewd - Be aware of the environment you are in and how you can share Jesus in that environment, knowing there may only be openings big enough for a "snake" to get in, so go through it.
3. "BE" Innocent - Be aware of the sensitivity of people to religious talk so that you can be harmless in your delivery
4. "BE" Shrewd - Be aware when the environment is one you need to walk out of or stand up for yourself.
5. "BE" Innocent - Be aware of how walking out or standing up for yourself may make you appear snobby or impersonal, so find a way to do it without drawing attention to the reason you are doing it.

Being shrewd and innocent at the same time reminds me of a detective. They are on alert to their environment while trying to blend in to the situation. They don't want to cause others to be too alarmed if they are spotted, but to appear nonchalant.

Though we often refer to a snake as a "scary" creature, but Jesus uses one of its characteristics to show how His disciples must be. Whereas a dove is not even close to a scary creature, but Jesus uses one of its characteristics to do the same thing.

We live in a malicious world, as did these disciples. We cannot back down from this challenge as we need to be as "shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves" as we go about carrying out the Mission which Jesus gave us.

Being shrewdly innocent...