SONG OF SOLOMON 2:15 – Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.”
THEME OF THE DAY: WATCH OUT FOR THE LITTLE FOXES. I am confident not one of us woke up this morning and said, “Today, I am going to go out and commit some horrific sin ruining my testimony for Christ.” I am equally confident not a single person reading today’s nugget wants to bring blemish to Christ’s gospel and send a confusing message of what it means to be a Christian to our families, friends, and fellow believers. But the reality of living in a fallen world with an active devil, deceptive world, and tempting flesh is that we must guard ourselves constantly against “little foxes” seeking to bring damage to our witness for the Lord Jesus. Today’s scripture provides a spiritual application of this guarding.
The Old Testament Book, Song of Solomon, is one of the wisdom books in our Bibles. It contains rich poetry and beautiful symbolism while describing an actual marriage between a man and woman.
In today’s scripture, Solomon warns of the danger of little foxes getting into a blossoming vineyard and destroying it. In the application toward a marriage, he is warning against the allowance of little things to sour a marriage. As for the reason for mentioning the “little foxes” as the agent of destruction is their size. They were small enough to dig around protective walls and gain access through little crevices to the vineyards. Now let’s make the spiritual application.
There are “little foxes” that want to get into the “vineyard of our hearts”, the place our witness for Christ is nurtured. These little critters seek to damage our testimonies for the Lord Jesus. Unless guarded against, and put off, they will confuse people about the message of Christianity. We will profess one thing, but our lives reflect something else. Now the little spiritual foxes . . .
Irritability, impatience, impulsive speech, unkind words, outbursts of anger, and a critical spirit are some of the “little foxes” which are serious sins before God. Each of them, if not checked and controlled by the Holy Spirit in the submissive and obedient Christian, will devastate one’s witness for Christ. Take for example in our homes. Are we portraying something before the world in public which is a known contradiction by our families in our homes? Perhaps the “little foxes” of self-centered impatience and irritability are causing uncomfortable tension among family members while we profess to be a Christian? If so, the “little foxes” are destroying our testimonies for the Lord Jesus before those closest to us.
So, how do we keep the “little foxes in their cages” and not damage our testimonies? King Solomon helps us again and this time from the book of Proverbs. He wrote, “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life” (Proverbs 4:23). We must moment-by-moment be on the lookout for any “spiritual little fox” seeking entrance into hearts. For instance, when we detect irritability and impatience with people, especially family members, stop, pray and remember who we are representing – the Lord Jesus. Do this consistently and we will keep the little foxes from spoiling our testimonies!
PRAYER: “Father, help me to be always on guard against ‘little things’ that will damage my testimony.”
QUOTE: “We do great damage to our testimonies for the Lord by tolerating ‘little sins’ of attitude.”
Because of Him,
Pastor Jim