When What You Know Isn’t

Dixie Belle and I had a prayer partner join us on the back porch last week. This will sound heartless, but I fluctuated between thinking of Jesus’ message, “He that is not against us, is for us,” and planning the intruding worshiper’s demise.

Yeah, it’s that whole bug issue of mine.

I’m sorry. I should mention our guest was a Praying Mantis, one of those green stick-like bugs whose front legs are bent into a perpetual prayer position.

The little guy, or girl (we never really bonded) stalked the corners of my screen porch morning after morning, oblivious to the danger I posed.

For those of you in the live and let live camp about bugs, allow me to explain. When I was a little girl growing up on Bull Run Road, I was told a Praying Mantis would spit in your eye and cause you to go blind. For years I considered this reason enough to steer clear of them as well as a strong motive for their extermination.

Only it isn’t so.

I looked it up. The spitting Praying Mantis is a myth. The little green worshipper is actually a very beneficial insect to have around. Translation, they eat other bugs. Oh, and they drool brown liquid; they don’t spit. They do have similar looking cousins called Walking Sticks who spit– and the Walking Stick’s venom can cause stinging and vision problems if it gets in the eyes of humans or animals– but even that reaction is temporary.

This isn’t the first time I’ve known something to be true that really isn’t. I don’t expect it will be the last.

Brace yourself. There’s reason to suspect you’re holding onto some hand-me-down myths of your own. That’s not critical when we’re talking about little green insects but it has life and death consequences as it applies to our souls. Jesus addressed this, too. He talked about the danger of teaching and believing rules made by men. We can’t afford to get this wrong, y’all. It’s why you and I need to go to the Bible for truth. Come, friend. Let’s live on God’s words, not man’s.

Hugs, Shellie