Proverbs 4.24-28
“Four things on earth are small, but they are exceedingly wise: the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer; the rock badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the cliffs; the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank; the lizard you can take in your hands, yet it is in kings’ palaces.”
The second animal marked for its wisdom is the rock badger. The technical name for this critter is hyrax, and they live and seek safety in the rocks. Rock badgers are wise because of the protection they provide for each other. They are exceptionally alert animals, and use sentries to watch and protect the community from predators.
Here is what Wikipedia says about them: “In Israel, the rock hyrax is reportedly rarely preyed upon by terrestrial predators, as their system of sentries and their reliable refuges provide considerable protection.”
This is an illustration from the animal kingdom that admonishes God’s people to be vigilant and alert like the rock badger. We are safe and protected when we are in close fellowship with the community of Christ, and when we are vigilant in watching out for one another.
I am reminded of a brief passage at the end of Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth, where the apostle admonishes the Corinthian believers (and us) with five very brief and very direct commands: “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” (I Corinthians 16.13-14)
The heart of Paul’s message is: Be a man. Be an adult (man or woman). This brief passage is a great summary of the kind of life that God calls us to live. Paul is telling the Corinthians, “There is a way I want you to respond to the challenges and opportunities of life. There is a way I want you to live and work every day. Here it is ...”
There is a strong military feel to this passage. These are commands to soldiers who are fighting a battle. It’s as if Paul is saying, “Follow these commands and you will defeat the enemy. You will win. Neglect these commands and the enemy will defeat you. You will lose.”
And the enemy is both internal and external. We must fight against the external enemies who would seek to deceive and defeat us, and we must fight against the internal enemies of our own bad habits and impulses.
A real man fights. A mature adult fights for what is important. For what matters. And not just for self, but for the Christian community. Throughout this week, we will look more closely at the Corinthians passage in order to better understand what it means to “act like men.”
