Catch the little foxes

Threading through the Song of Solomon is an odd and quiet refrain about watching out for the little foxes:

“Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards …” (Song of Solomon 2:15).

The message is that it is not necessarily glaringly obvious evils that threaten to ruin a beautiful thing like the Church, but little menaces you hardly notice scurrying underfoot. Not elephants but foxes spoil the vineyards.

I would like to mention a few foxes I’ve noticed in the vineyard that, if we don’t get a hold of them, threaten to ruin the Lord’s vineyard. These may seem randomly chosen but they are what I have encountered in passing recently in my own vineyard travels.

One is that if you try to point out some sinful behavior and what the Word of God has to say about it, you are likely to be met with the counter-accusation that “you yourself are imperfect and a sinner.” The implication is that you not say anything because you are disqualified. So because we have all sinned, we are not allowed to point out when something is sinful. Because we have all sinned, we are not allowed to mention that someone is engaging in adultery or homosexuality or temper tantrums or disobedience or whatever it is he is engaging in to the danger of his soul.

Another little fox one encounters is that there is no plain Word of God that cannot be countered by the response that you are taking it “out of context.” Give this tendency its head and pretty soon we will be muzzled and unable to cite any verse of Scripture that is contrary to the prevailing man-centered way of thinking. Are you presumptuous enough to suggest that the Bible says we should not associate with those who call themselves Christians and who are sexually immoral? You have obviously taken it “out of context,” and the person objecting to it will give you five other unrelated verses that say so.

My last “little fox” for this essay is that there is no plain Word of God that you can share with someone that will not prompt the rejoinder that things are not “black-and-white.” There is not much to say against this dodge except to repeat the plain Word of God and hope for the best.

Put these three little foxes together and they can do a great deal of damage. A nibble here and a nibble there and soon the verbal authority of God is whittled away and effectively nullified.

Let us be aware of the little foxes and “let us catch the little foxes,” as the Scriptures say.