Shew! Fly Don't Bother Me....
A sweet friend of mine had her house "overtaken" by "FRUIT FLIES!" She said she tried everything to get rid of them-bleach, aerosols, you name it--she tried it. While chatting on-line w/her one evening (morning- uh hmm.) she exclaimed "A fruit fly just flew in my eye!" I remember bursting into laughter and began googling how to rid fruit flies so as to help her resolve her pesty problem. We chatted about how to get rid of them and then soon after I went on about my daily routine forgetting all about her new pets (no i didn't misspell pests--they had really taken over and became the house pets! LOL :-P).
As the story goes, I kept thinking about these fruit flies and began to wonder how do they even come about? I knew I had to get back onto google and learn more. I began researching the life of a fruit fly and it began to become a spiritual reality to me. Read on:
Fruit Flies begin their journey by attacking decaying organic matter and by surviving in decomposing fruit. They attack the fruit, infect it with bacterias causing further rotting and contamination. A fruit fly lays its eggs in the decaying fruit and within 30 HOURS (not days-HOURS) the larvae emerge. A female can lay up to 400-500 eggs at one time! Once the larvae emerge, they feed for six days on the fermented surface. They then turn into adult fruit flies and begin reproducing within 2 days repeating the aforesaid procedure. This means that one little fruit fly lays 400-500 eggs and then those little eggs become adults within 8 days and multiply again laying 400-500 eggs and then those 800-1000 little eggs- turned-flies continue laying more eggs and then those flies, in turn, lay more eggs and so on and so on; hence the home is overtaken by the infestation of fruit flies. "Once these little pests settle in, these uninvited guests know how to overstay their welcome!" They then begin to seek out tiny spaces and cracks which then harbor 1000's of larvae. The infestation cannot be eliminated without eliminating the source. The BEST way to avoid these pesty problems is to "eliminate the source of attraction."
So, I read all these articles about the scientific research of this bug and then it hits me--These pesty critters are just like "THOUGHTS!" Our mind, left unguarded and unprotected, allow one little thought to creep into it and within minutes, then hours, and days that single thought has the potential to mass-reproduce itself in our heads! In turn, the one thought becomes a race track of intertwining destruction. Again, once these "little pests" settle in, they overstay their welcome as well! The fleeting thoughts now are zooming one way and another finding all the cracks and crevices that they can destroy and harbor themselves in similar to the 1000's of larvae. The innocent thought of "I am not attractive enough...good enough...skinny enough...fat enough.....Godly enough...strong enough...smart enough....rich enough...successful enough" (fill in whatever your vice is) begins to attack on every area of our lives. OR it could be the fleeting innocent thought of the attractive person you just saw/met/used to date/yearn for which then begins to attack every area of your mind. We allow ourselves to be overtaken and defeated by these vicious, mental, unseen attacks. Hence, our fruit becomes infested and begins to decompose.
The infestation cannot be eliminated without eliminating the source. The BEST way to avoid these pesty problems is to "eliminate the source of attraction." The good news is that there are ways to be freed from these attacks. We first must eliminate the source for James 1:14-15 states the following: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. This tells us that these fleeting moments of temptations, whether they be physical or mental bring forth sin. Find the source that is tempting you and turn from it. Matthew 18:9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. 2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Scripture there just told us to humble ourselves, pray, call on His (Jesus Christ's) name and turn from our wicked ways so that He can heal our land. The verse prior to that tells us to remove the offending part of our body and the following verse tells us how our mind ought to think: 2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And then lastly, in Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. This means, to ward off the infestation of THOUGHTS that come into our minds causing fruit to decay, we must think in the aforesaid order. Every time a thought comes to visit your mind, before we decide to entertain it and allow the uninvited guest to stay, let's run it through the checklist that God gave us and see if it's even ALLOWED permission to have a second of our time for us to even ponder.
The song from 1869 goes like this "Shew! Fly Don't Bother Me. Shew! Fly Don't Bother Me. Shew! Fly Don't Bother Me... I belong to Company G!" Well, I belong to "Company G!" as well, I belong to God, and I won't allow flies to bother me or overtake my home or mind.
Psalms 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
Proverbs 12:5 The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.
Proverbs 16:3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
