7 Sep, 2009
America's Most Hated Bird!
SALT LAKE CITY – The next time the sky darkens with a flock of noisy unwelcome starlings, blame Shakespeare — or, better yet, a few of his strangest fans.
Had the Bard not mentioned the starling in the third scene of "Henry IV," arguably the most hated bird in North America might
never have arrived. In the early 1890s, about 100 European starlings were released in New York City's Central Park by a group dedicated to bringing to America every bird ever mentioned by Shakespeare.
Today, it's more like Hitchcock.
Some 200 million shiny black European starlings crowd North America, from the cool climes of Alaska to the balmy reaches of
Mexico's Baja peninsula. The enormous flocks endanger air travel, mob cattle operations, chase off native songbirds, roost on city blocks, leaving behind corrosive, foul-smelling droppings and hundreds of millions of dollars of damage each year.
And getting rid of them is near impossible.
Last year U.S. government agents poisoned, shot and trapped 1.7 million starlings, more than any other nuisance species, according to new figures, only to see them roaring back again.
Story and photo taken from: http://news.yahoo.com
Dealing with our sin is difficult
Read: Romans 7:21-25 (NIV)
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Reading this story about the starlings reminds me of how difficult it is to deal with certain persistant sins. We pray and pray to act a certain way only to fail more than we succeed.
Just like the annoying starling birds who cause havoc to a city, our sin causes many difficulties in our lives. Our sin effects our self-esteem, how we relate to others, and most importantly how we relate to God.
We should take comfort in that Paul struggled with this very thing. Even Paul, who wrote half of the New Testament, constantly struggled with the sin that waged within him.
As Paul did, we must realize that there is a battle going on for our hearts and minds. Even though we have been saved by Christ, sin is still a part of us and we must deal with it on a daily basis. In fact, that is a big reason why we write this blog everyday--to encourage believers to keep fighting the fight. If we didn't have to battle with such sin there would not be much to write about.
So if you are struggling back and forth with sin today realize that it is normal for the Christian to struggle and thank God that He is greater than sin and through Him we will one day overcome.
- Are their particular sins that constantly nag you? If so, understand that this is spiritual warfare and thank God that only through Him can you have victory. Share your struggles with other believers you can trust so that they can pray for you and encourage you. It is very difficult to live the Christian life alone.
- If you really feel overwhelmed with sinful desires, etc... seek out help from your youth pastor, pastor, or counselor.
- It is not very difficult to see the spiritual warfare around us today (or maybe it is - pray that God would open your eyes). Many people in school struggle with addictive-like behaviors to drugs, alcohol, sex, computer games, etc... As a Christian, we are not exempt from these problems. Ask God to give you empathy in understanding others who struggle in these areas and the power to share how Christ has helped you (or is helping you) to live free from them.
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