Traditionally, it is usually not acceptable for people to engage in what is called “monkey business”, but sometimes it may be a very useful type of behavior. Recently, villagers in India came up with an unconventional way to scare off more than 2,000 monkeys which were attacking people in their villages, especially children. They started wearing bear costumes which they purchased from a make-up artist, and they took turns wearing the costumes and roaming around their villages, resulting in a drastic reduction in monkey attacks. Villagers originally sought the help of the forestry department, which claimed that a lack of funds prevented it from being of help. One farmer had a technique of his own to protect his coffee crop when he painted his pet dog with tiger stripes to scare off monkeys.
“Words from Above” tell us what Jesus said in Matthew 7 about people whom He labeled false prophets. He said that they appear “in sheep’s clothing but inwardly they are ravening wolves”. To illustrate His point, Jesus spoke about how good trees bring forth good fruit, and how evil trees bring forth evil fruit. He concluded that we can judge people by the fruits of their lives, just like we can judge trees by their fruit.
Ravening wolves may remind us of the fairy tale about Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, who discovered from her where she was going, and ran ahead of her to her grandmother’s house. After devouring the grandmother, the wolf planned to do the same to Red Riding Hood. Fortunately, a hunter came by and saved Red Riding Hood from the Big Bad Wolf. In the same way, Jesus can spare us from false prophets who seek to destroy our faith in God and ultimately our souls.
As important as it is to beware of false prophets, it is far more important to make sure that we are good examples to those who do not believe in God. Jesus spoke about this in John 13:34, where He spoke about the need for us to love one another, as He has loved us. He concludes in verse 35 that it is by our love for one another that people can know that we are His disciples. It is precisely our love for one another that can convince those who don’t believe to believe that Jesus has the power to transform lives and make us brand new people.
As believers, we share the message of the gospel with those who do not believe because we do not want to see their souls destroyed. This is serious business that Jesus entrusts to us, and not monkey business.
Larry R. Steffee is pastor of the Center Hill Brethren In Christ Church on Miller Road in Smithville. Everyone is welcome to attend. For informa-tion, you may email lrsteffeetn@yahoo.com.
