Day 11: Be Wise as Serpents

Wisdom is a good thing to have. It is the principal thing. There is nothing we can desire that will be compared to having it. Nothing can be a substitute for it. The Bible says its price is beyond rubies or fine gold.

"Wisdom is so priceless that it exceeds the value of any jewel. Nothing you could wish for can equal her" (Pro 8: 11, TPT).

If we understand the implications of wisdom, we will not want to live as fools even for a nanosecond. When Jesus was about to send out His disciples on a mission, He told them that they needed to be as wise as serpents as they interacted with others around them.

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves" (Mt 10: 16).

Of all the animals in the world, Jesus who called us sheep did not want us to be as wise as sheep or as wise as a lion or as wise as an eagle but He wanted us to be as wise as a serpent. When you looked at the mess that brought into our world, it was caused by the serpent. Remember, it was the devil through the serpent who deceived Eve (Gen 3, 2Cor 11: 3). Yet, Jesus wanted us to be wise as the serpent.

Many of us are not really living or behaving wisely as God’s people any wonder some of us are falling victim to the works of the devil. If we know what it means to be wise as a serpent we will brace ourselves and begin to live the life that God has called us to wisely.

Jesus was telling His disciples not to be fools or stupid. He was literarily asking them to be wise. Let’s quickly consider the implications of that statement to us in this 21st century:

1. Be aware of our environment. You must know what is happening around you every time. You must know where you are and what you are there for. You must know what should or should not be there. Not every environment is the same. The protocol required for entrance is different from one environment to the other and if you don’t learn this, you will not get the best of every environment. You may end up becoming a misfit and then make a mess of your environment. You can even shut the door of access to you. Unfortunately, some of us don’t know what is going on or happening around us. We can’t sense the difference in our environment. We don’t know how to behave in different environments. No wonder some of us are misbehaving, underreacting or overreacting, instead of responding. For example, Jesus said when you go to a party, it is better they invite you to the place of honor than for you to assume the place of honor (Lk 14: 8-9). King Solomon also said you must learn to control your appetite otherwise you can become a laughingstock (Pro 23: 1-3; 25: 6-7).
2. Look before you leap: What this simply means is that you must learn to consider the consequences of your actions. Some of us have forgotten that actions have consequences which is why we think we can eat our cake and have it at the same time. In case no one has told you, actions have consequences. And some are more fatal than others.
3. Be patient: A serpent always studies its environment. It knows the purpose of waiting and patience. A serpent can stay in a place for a long time before they strike. We must learn to delay gratification. We must destroy the tendency of being in a hurry. Remember that those who believe don’t make haste.
4. Have a target: A snake does not act anyhow. It always identifies its target. Do you know what you want? Do you know how to go about it? Do you know where what you want is located?
5. Have a plan: It’s not enough to have a target, you must have a plan in place to make things happen. Wisdom is knowing how to hit your target.
6. Don’t be afraid of hitting your target: A serpent is not afraid of striking when the opportunities present themselves. Some of us don’t know what to do with what we have. We are afraid of launching or taking appropriate actions when the opportunity presents itself. Some of us are very slow to respond. We suffer from paralysis of analysis. We spend most of our time overanalyzing our situations an the decisions we need to make until we convince ourselves not to act or take the needed steps.
7. Know who is for you and who is against you: A serpent knows who its prey is. It knows who is not for them and it attacks it. Unfortunately, some of us are naive. We don’t know who is for us or against us. In case you don’t know, the devil is your enemy (1Pt 5: 8, Eph 6: 12). He is your adversary, you must know how he operates and stand your ground to resist him always (1Pt 5: 9). You might be making a mistake if you think people are your enemies. I pray that you will not make your enemies friends and vice-versa.
8. Know how to blend into your environment: One of the things that made the apostle Paul successful in his ministry is his ability to blend into his environment and it takes wisdom to do that. He learned how to find a common ground between himself and others without compromising his values. He told us about this experience:
   • Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it! (1Cor 9: 20-23, The Message).
9. Recognize the power of timing: Not every time is a good time to act. There is a time for everything under the sun. The serpent knows that timing is everything. It knows when to strike and when to withdraw. When we don’t know the power of timing we will struggle to make an impact as we should.
10. Don’t expose yourself: A serpent always looks for the right place to hide itself. It does not expose itself unnecessarily to the danger around it. Even Jesus hid Himself from those who wanted to kill Him (Jn 7: 1; 8: 59). Unfortunately, some Christians are not wise in that regard. The Bible says the prudent sees evil from afar and hid.
    • A prudent man sees evil and hides himself and avoids it, But the naive [who are easily misled] continue on and are punished [by suffering the consequences of sin]” (Pro 27: 12, AMP).
    • Another variation from the Living Bible is: “A sensible man watches for problems ahead and prepares to meet them. The simpleton never looks and suffers the consequences.”

My desire is that everyone of us will learn how to be wise as a serpent by adopting these ten points.

Prayer: Lord, I subscribe to your wisdom today, help me to be as wise as a serpent. Amen!