The Frog and the Scorpion

This is just truth. It is a wide spread evil that has taken hold of our world and dragged it to the pit of hell because we (the proverbial we, not me) stopped believing in something higher than ourselves and lost hope. A fable is a story, usually using animals, that conveys a message of morals. This one, according to my favorite search engine Wikipedia, seems to have originated in Russia. “A scorpion wants to cross a river but cannot swim, so it asks a frog to carry it across. The frog hesitates, afraid that the scorpion might sting it, but the scorpion promises not to, pointing out that they would both drown if the scorpion killed the frog in the middle of the river. The frog considers this argument sensible and agrees to transport the scorpion. Midway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog anyway, dooming them both. The dying frog asks the scorpion why it stung despite knowing the consequence, to which the scorpion replies: "I am sorry, but I couldn't help it. It's in my nature." You see, I use this story a lot with the students in program. I use it a lot now, for those who continue to give the scorpion a ride across that river despite the obvious consequences. Another form of addiction for many in the program, and in this world, is codependency. It is a sickness… an addiction. It is very prevalent in our society. Broken people seek acceptance. With the break down of families and morals and relationships, comes gangs and homelessness. And broken people seek other broken people who understand them. Unfortunately, many broken people start out as frogs and the more street wise and life hardened of those tend to become scorpions. They do what they think that they must do to survive. We have a saying in program. “Hurt people hurt people.” I have known women who continue to go back to their abusers because it is all they know. I was one of those women decades ago. I have heard women’s stories of cheating boyfriends/husbands who call them names and push them aside for someone ‘better’ only to come back when they have no one else. When he has someone else, he tells them that they aren’t good enough and he needs his own space. Then, when there is no one else, he comes back and promises the world but gives nothing. Scraps from the table that even a dog could expect. But to her, it must mean that he loves her. What brings us to this point of desperation so that we allow people to use and abuse us and push us aside over and over again? For me, I was taught that I am not worth anything more. It was a learned behavior slowly implanted in my belief system by a long series of neglect, rejection and mistreatment. We didn’t have a belief system. Our blended home was fraught with absent parents and broken young women. I can look back and see the desperation in my older siblings to be rescued by a man, get married and hope for a better life. For my side at least, it didn’t turn out so well. It certainly didn’t for me as I grew older. I won’t go into that here. Men and women alike suffer from this affliction. Scorpions can be anyone. You must love your enemy, but you don’t have to sleep with them. Gal 6:7-9: “7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” I remember finding faith when Baptist’s came to my door. I was young and abused by my husband. I was deep in the faith and wanted to abide by the bible and yet, I was afraid that one day my husband would kill me, or worse, raise the children in that environment. The pastor and his wife said that even though the bible did not like divorce, you could divorce for his lack of faith. They said that I could leave him for abusing me because he also had no faith. What is my bottom line? We lack faith. We lack hope because we do not seek it. We lack morals and values because we weren’t taught where to find them. Or, in some cases, our sinful nature wants what it wants at any cost. We lack knowledge and wisdom that is right there in front of us, free to all. We lack freedom from our tormentors because we don’t have a clue how to break those chains. One manuscript, the one source, from our one and only God who loved us enough to make sure that all our concerns were written down with solutions. The Bible! Put your trust, your life, your choices, your behavior and your love in His hands. PERIOD. Lastly…. You see? He knew before we were even on this earth that scorpions would be an issue! He even has an answer to that! Luke 10:19: “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.”