Innocent and Wise

How crafty are you?

See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. - Matthew 10:16

To get along in this world, one must have street smarts. One needs to be able to discern who is out for good and who is out for evil.  To do that, one needs the wisdom of the serpent.

In today's Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples to be innocent, like doves.  Remain pure at heart, unblemished by the world that is corrupt.  Remain worthy of sacrifice, as a dove, for the dove is thought to be pure, a sacrificial offering.

But good hearted souls can be led astray by those who are crafty and dishonest, which is why they need wisdom.

What better combination of virtue and vice than to be set on doing good, knowing all the tricks and devices of the deceiver?

When Jesus sent the disciples out, he sent them in twos, so no one would be easily taken advantage of.  There would always be another set of eyes and ears to be aware of the surroundings, to be able to judge whether danger was lurking nearby.

Many in the world are tempted to take the easy road, so we must be on our guard. 

Perhaps that is why Jesus chose his followers form among the rough and tumble, rather than the meek.  He wanted people who knew the ropes, who had played the game to win, and could now devote their efforts to doing good, bringing others into the mix.

It takes a thief to catch a thief, and a hacker to find the hacker, so why not turn the deceivers into savers of others?

Of course, we need to know the con man is truly converted, or we could be conned.

So, we must be wise as serpents ourselves.  The challenge is to stay focused on the dove.

More to come...