A few days back when we were discussing opinion development, I mentioned a saying or perhaps more of a warning. That warning is, “Don’t feed the bears”. It’s a saying that many of us may have heard somewhere, like on a nature show or even on a sign at a national park. I was thinking about that one day, and asked myself the question, “Why not?”. I am sure that the answer is fairly obvious, but it struck me as more of a life lesson that day. The reason that we aren’t to feed the bears is because if we do, we are bringing danger closer to us and increasing the chances that we will have a problem. I have seen from time to time that there can be things that we do, things that we know aren’t good for us, but yet we let those things hang around and foster them. It can be a friendship or relationship with someone that we know isn’t taking us in a good direction, yet for one reason or another we don’t distance ourselves from that person. It may be going somewhere where we know there will be temptation, and yet rather than avoiding it, we convince ourselves that “we can handle it” and continue to go to that place and take the risk.
I don’t have any experience with bears outside of seeing them at the zoo and on tv. I doubt that many of you do either, yet likely most of us have seen those “stupid tourist” videos, where someone disregards the warnings, gets out of their vehicle, and tries to feed or pet some dangerous animal. We usually laugh at the person when the animal makes some sort of aggressive move sending them running for safety. A vehicle can be a reasonable shelter from most creatures, but the “Don’t feed the bear signs” aren’t just for the occasional roadside tourist photo opportunity. They are also for hikers and campers. When people feed the bears, they get comfortable around people. They may come closer, more often, or they may even bring “friends”. In time, what once may have started as a fun experience can turn into a dangerous situation as the animal returns for more to eat. On a hiking trail or in a tent, there is no real protection from the dangers. Feeding the bears is a recipe for disaster.
I used this as a life lesson with our kids. The Bible says that we are to flee from youthful lusts or temptations. (II Timothy 2:22) We are not to give Satan any place in us. (Ephesians 4:27) In fact, James 4:7-8 says we are to submit ourselves to God, resist the devil so that he leaves, then instead, we get ourselves closer to God and as we do, He will get closer to us. “Feeding the bears” in our lives is setting ourselves up for problems and failure. As we examine our lives, let’s look for things that are a “recipe for disaster” and get them out before they become a major problem. It’s also been said that, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. This is just the thing that we are saying. A good athlete carefully monitors their food, exercise, and activity to eliminate things that would “slow them down”, in order that they might be able to maximize their potential for success. Bitterness, jealousy, covetousness, lust, etc. all start small, but grow into debilitating conditions. Lying, cheating, and stealing may start out as “minor” things that we can justify to ourselves, but they soon grow into self-made traps. Bad relationships, unwise friendships, or going places that only increase the chances of stumbling, can each be a setup for a life altering disaster. Greed, pride, or selfishness can place us ahead of God and others. Whether in our entertainment choices, our social media usage, or just our daily conversations, we need to guard ourselves and cut out those things that will lead to problems in the future. We cannot avoid all the problems of life, but we can minimize the number of problems that we will have by not, “Feeding the bears”.
We are blessed.
Hannah Helps 