What if I told you that God could be seen in the most ordinary things every day?
What if I told you that every day, ordinary events could teach us extraordinary eternal truths? Would you believe me?
Welcome back to season 6 of the Set Your Mind Above Podcast! My name is BJ Sipe, and I am a Christian, a preacher, a husband, and a father. In our next few moments together, we hope to learn some of the most important lessons from some of the simplest things in life. Thank you for taking this journey with me.
Everything itches.
I know, a strange way to start and probably too much information. So, allow me to double down and give you a little bit more. About a week and a half ago, my uncle Kerry Brown asked me to come out to his property in order to help put up some deer stands before hunting season finally arrives. It did not go exactly as we had planned. These stands were old, tall, and very heavy. I’ll save you the details that led to what will inevitably lead to the need for a second trip out there to finish the job, but there is one important part of that day I should share.
I spent a good portion of my 3-4 hours out there that day scaling and climbing up into trees. We were cutting branches, securing and fastening the benches of these stands, and using ropes as a pully system to pull these large stands up. I was very much enjoying pretending I was a young boy again while up in the trees. However, I had gone straight from working at the coffee shop out to the farm and had not thought about changing or grabbing any bug spray, which was a horrific mistake. So, picture it with me – I’m up in the trees with my legs wrapped around the trunks in shorts and a t-shirt for several hours. Fast forward to later that night when I got home, that’s when the itching started. It was everywhere. At first, I thought perhaps I had gotten into some poison oak (because there was plenty of it) – but it was something far worse. Chigers.
Chigers are tiny mite larvae, so small that the naked eye cannot usually see them. They live in grassy, bushy and weedy areas – the kind that I was trouncing all through around the property that day. They especially love humid and warm areas, which is an apt description of Kentucky as of late. Well, these little suckers bite. And when they do, they attach to the skin, inject digestive enzymes that break down skin cells, feed for a while, and then eventually fall off. What this leaves, however, are very itchy red bumps that can blister and welt – and they last for weeks on end.
Well…I ended up getting eaten alive. Without exaggeration, my legs, arms, back and stomach are covered with about 250 bites. I’m fairly certain I have blood type O, because this is a regular issue for me. I am a favorite dish of any insect – mosquitos, ticks, chigers, they all love me; apparently, I am delicious. I have been doing anything and everything for nearly the last two weeks to alleviate the itching and discomfort. It honestly looks like I have the chicken pox, and whenever I’ve worn shorts, I usually get at least a couple of comments of someone saying, “Woah! What happened to you?” Something that I will be far more careful than to let happen again, that’s what!
Even though we cannot see something and are ignorant of its reality, it does not mean it cannot do great damage. That truth not only applies to things like chigers, but it also applies to our actions & the consequences of our actions. Paul will discuss his past life as an enemy of God’s people in 1 Timothy 1:13, where he wrote:
“Even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief.”
Paul acted in ignorance. He did not see or understand the light of the gospel before the Lord called him on that road to Damascus. However, even though his actions were done in ignorance, the damage he did was very real and devastating. As he also states, he was arrogant. Ignorance and arrogance are a very dangerous combination. Just as I thought, “Oh, I’ll be fine” without bug spray and paid the consequences, Paul’s arrogance and ignorance led to much more serious consequences. As a persecutor of the church, Paul was responsible for the incarceration and death of many Christians before he came to faith. It was for this reason that in vv. 15 Paul would refer to himself as the “worst of sinners”. Ignorance of sin does not remove the damage of sin. While we can be forgiven of our sin, forgiveness does not erase natural consequences.
We must recognize that Paul does not stand alone in this; we can be just as guilty of hurting others on account of our own ignorance. We read in Proverbs 22:3, “A sensible person sees danger and takes cover, but the inexperienced keep going and are punished.” Our ignorance can be destructive, not only to ourselves but to others if we are not careful. Just as Hosea discussed the people being destroyed for lack of knowledge, so we too can be destroyed and even be destructive ourselves if we act and remain in ignorance.
As we already stated, simply because we cannot see something and are ignorant of its reality does not mean something cannot do great damage. The same can be said of the spiritual battle we are in. We read in Ephesians 6:11-12,
“Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.”
We are in a spiritual fight, and the most dangerous characteristic of our enemy is that he cannot be seen with the naked eye. We don’t fight against flesh and blood; the battle we are in is spiritual in nature. As such, we are engaged in warfare against an invisible enemy – and if we are not on guard and aware of the devil and his schemes, we can become complacent and fall prey to the deceitfulness of sin on account of our own ignorance. You cannot see the enemy, but that does not make him any less dangerous; in fact, it makes him more so. This is why we must put on the whole armor of God. Paul goes on to write in Ephesians 6:13-18,
“For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.”
If I had worn protective clothing and bug spray, it would have guarded me against an unseen enemy. In the same way, when we take up truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the word of God, and prayer – and clothe ourselves with these things – it will protect us from the unseen enemy. If we heed these warnings, we will stand firm in this fight. But if we take no precaution, if we are not guarded, that which we are ignorant of will do devastating damage to our very souls and devour us.
My friends, ignorance is not bliss. It’s destructive. May we diligently strive in the fear of the Lord to come to a knowledge of God and equip ourselves to stand strong against our unseen enemy.
This has been season 6 episode 29 of the Set Your Mind Above Podcast – and I’m so thankful that we had this time to grow together! A new episode is dropped each Friday of the week. If you’re able to, go ahead and like and subscribe to the podcast, give us a good rating, and tune in next week. Even more important, share the spiritual truths that we learned today with someone else. And more than anything my friends, always remember the following: know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.
