THE ETHICAL BEAST
A beast is also a domestic animal, especially a bovine (meaning, relating to cattle) farm animal.
Basic dictionary definitions.
So, cattle are beasts.
A lion is a beast.
An eagle is a beast.
A serpent is a beast.
Yes, a serpent. Let’s talk about that.
Especially as Christ used it as some sort of behavioral reference and exemplar for us.
He pointedly said: “Be wise as the serpent.”
Oops!
“But,” He continued, “be harmless as the dove.”
Okies!
A serpent is a large snake.
A snake, as studied and described by Science (Biology), is a reptile without limbs, voice, external ears, or eyelids, that has only one functional lung, and a long, slender body.
What are some evolutionary traits of the snake?
Stay with me. I know we don’t like snakes.
But we are getting somewhere.
We’re learning something.
Snakes have a keen sense of smell, temperature and touch but generally poor eyesight (except night snakes that have catlike eyes).
The only vocal sounds that most snakes make are hisses.
Some growl (a low guttural sound in the throat).
Some species play dead when they sense danger.
Most of them have heat-sensitive, infra-red detecting facial pits that allow them to detect prey several meters away.
Information from their facial pits and eyes is processed in the same area of the brain, allowing them to see the body heat of an animal perhaps as a brighter image.
When hunting, it is very important for snakes to move quietly and with minimum movement in order not to alert their prey.
Many snakes are good climbers and swimmers.
All snakes are carnivorous and prefer live prey.
Many snakes have camouflage markings and an ability to stay very still so they are not detected.
Many can catch their prey with a single strike.
“Wise as the serpent.”
So how ‘wise’ is the serpent?
Silent. Subtle. Strategic. Sensitive. Swift.
Highly discerning. Strongly perceptive.
However, recall that both Christ and John the Baptist referred to the roguish religious leaders of their day as “a brood (offspring or family) of vipers”.
Vipers are venomous or poisonous snakes, such as rattlesnakes and water moccasins.
What makes vipers different from other snakes?
Vipers have a triangular head.
Many have scales that stand up straight above their eyes.
These scales make it seem like the snake has horns.
Vipers have long fangs compared to other snakes.
But when the word ‘viper’ is used to describe a human being, it means a spiteful and treacherous person.
Spiteful implies a mean or malicious desire for (often petty) revenge.
A treacherous person is disloyal, betraying, deceitful or duplicitous.
Learn from the intelligence of the serpent.
But eschew the duplicity and vindictiveness of vipers.
That takes us to the other animal of interest.
Not a beast now but a different kind of creature.
“But harmless as the dove.”
A dove is a thickset or sturdily built bird with a small head, short legs, a soft low voice, and that feeds on seeds, fruits and vegetables.
Doves are generally smaller, lighter in color and more delicate than pigeons.
Although they are also called wild pigeons, and live in a wide range of natural habitat including deserts, savannas, grasslands, temperate woodlands, rain forests, mangrove forests, and also barren sands.
What are the distinctive characteristics of doves?
Innocent. Innocuous. Benign. Gentle. Pure.
Doves are often used as a symbol of peace.
When used to describe human beings, the dove signifies a person who takes a conciliatory attitude and advocates negotiations or healthy compromise.
It also means a gentle woman or child.
In various cultural and spiritual contexts, it is used as a symbol of compassion and unity, or to signify a messenger of peace.
Recall that Scripture records that the Holy Spirit alighted on Christ “like a dove”, after His baptism.
Combining these two creatures, the serpent and the dove, we can see the portrait of what I refer to as an ethical beast.
Like beauty and the beast infused in one robust enigmatic personality, the Spirit-filled Believer is somewhat of a righteous but dangerous creature.
The New Creature: God’s divine arsenal.
A good terror.
A virtuous weapon.
A judicious armament.
A conscientious terminator.
What did God say in Scripture concerning His formidable agents of spiritually valid warfare?
“Behold, I have made you a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges;
You will thresh the mountains and pulverize them, And will make the hills like chaff.”
That’s in Isaiah chapter 41 verse 15.
The Legacy Standard Bible rendering.
This is one beautiful paradox of spiritual reality.
Let me reiterate and buttress this significant point, for inclusion and perspective:
A beast is not necessarily a wild or dangerous creature.
A beast can be a domesticated animal, such as a mule, ox, horse, camel, donkey or elephant, that is used for carrying loads or pulling heavy equipment.
Such an animal is called a beast of burden.
They are very useful in transporting men and material on their backs and in carts.
They possess strength and stamina.
They are loyal, levelheaded and trainable.
Can you draw applicable insights from all these analogies?
Wise. Gentle. Serving.
Intelligent. Peaceful. Resilient.
Thoughtful. Tender. Tough.
A triangle of power.
You can then understand the comparative imagery, in descriptive analysis, which leads to a logical conclusion of this writing.
In ruminating about this, you may (inevitably) subsequently and perhaps even subconsciously move into the diagnostic and prescriptive mindset of analyzing or evaluating your own Christian walk.
That is, if you can or want to do that ideological deep dive for personal growth purposes.
So, it is on the allegorical and scripturally validated basis portrayed herein that I dare say, in metaphorical terms:
“Being a Christian” is being an ethical ‘beast’.
(Snake and Dove facts are derived from different sources)
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