A scoundrel, a wicked man, is one who goes around with a perverse mouth, winking his eyes, shuffling his feet, pointing his fingers, who continually plots evil with deceit in his heart stirring up strife. Proverbs 6:12-14, TLV
A Snake by Any Other Name . . . Shabbat Shalom.
It has been a little over seven months since my mom was promoted to heaven—and no doubt having a ball with the patriarchs and her first and only love, my dad. So why does that proverb selection remind me of her? Or—shudder—snakes? Bear with me.
Okay, I admit it. I severely dislike snakes. In principle I don’t like the way they look, and it doesn’t matter if they are poisonous or not.
My cute, little mom.
Why I Thought of Mom
My mom could tell if a snake is poisonous and wasn’t opposed to shooting its head off — with her rifle.
There was this huge snake under her porch at my brother’s farm. She loves that snake because apparently it eats copperheads and rattlesnakes. So, I guess that’s okay. And, near as I can tell, there must be a lot of copperheads and rattlesnakes in the area because this dude is huge!
Unfortunately, apparently the humongous slither-er missed one of the copperheads. Mom was doing yard word with a hoe and lo and behold, a copperhead attacked her. But my fearless mother began chopping with her hoe at that snake all the while screaming for help.
The critter slithered off with a few divots
from some well-placed chops with the hoe.
Okay, not precisely a parallel to the theme, but anytime I can remember a story that demonstrates epitome of her personality, I’ll probably be sharing them for awhile.
Back to the Lesson
This proverb is an odd little passage. It’s a lesson in discernment. Not all scoundrels are wicked or evil, some are simply rascals getting into trouble from time to time. How do we tell the difference? Discernment.
Some might call discernment judging, but I think of snakes. Just because my mom discerns that a copperhead is poisonous and dangerous, it doesn’t mean she’s judgmental.
Me, on the other hand, deciding that I don’t like any snake is judgmental, not discerning.
So next time you exercise a bit of discernment, and someone accuses you of being judgmental, smile and think of my mom.
