Who Ate My Melons?
When I was growing up, we had a melon patch each summer where we grew watermelons and cantaloupes. This was a large plot with a fence to keep groundhogs and deer out. One day we noticed that something was eating our melons. Dad woke me up, the next morning before the sun came up. To our surprise, squirrels were having a picnic with our melons. Squirrels are cute little rodents, but they can clean out a melon patch if left unchecked.
Proverbs 25:28 says, “Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.” Even a small opening in a wall meant that the entire city lay open to attack. The same was true with our melon patch. The fence surrounding the crop of melons didn’t protect it from squirrels.
The Bible tells us the difference between a proverb and a promise. Proverbs are sayings that are generally true and derived from observing life. Proverbs contain wisdom obtained from living among broken and sinful people, where a promise comes from our eternal and never-changing God. We can always count on God to fulfill His promises, while proverbs can be true depending on how people respond to a situation.
Proverbs 25:16 says, “If you find honey, eat just enough.” Self-control is a fruit of the spirit that guards us and keeps us from losing ground to impatience, bitterness, greed and other pests that can destroy God’s harvest. (Galatians 5:22-23)
When I look at the melon patches of my life, I can see spots where I give in to temptation over and over again. My father and I had it easy. We were able to remove the squirrels that were eating our melons, but in day-to-day living there are temptations that get past us every day. We need the healthy-minded self-control of God to guard us from such intruders.
Prayer – God, help me to grow the fruit of self-control in my life. Help me to control impatience, bitterness, greed and the other pests that can destroy God’s harvest in our lives. Amen.
Proverbs 25:28 – “Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.”
By the Rev. Tommy Herndon
Images by Aleksandr Gorlov, Shane Young & Rens D., courtesy of Unsplash
