8 Sep, 2010
Bringing Down Biting
Man bites police over pet peeve
(Reuters) - Police arrested an 82-year-old man after he bit and kicked officers who had arrived to mediate in a dispute with a neighbor over a domestic pet.
The officers arrived at his house in the central Dutch village of Nijkerk to talk to the neighbor when the man was leaving on his bicycle, police said.
Asked to identify himself, the man got off his bike and started to kick and bite the officers, police said Thursday. The man was taken to the police station and was released after questioning.
Galatians 5:14-16 (ESV)
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and the you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
What does God’s Story scripture teach us about biting?
The church at Galatia was filled with biters. At a previous point in time, they had not been biters, but when Paul wrote his letter to them, they had become biters. The word “bite” is a word that is only meant to be used with animals, for only animals are supposed to be vicious enough to bite. So, how is it that the Galatians had become biters?
Although they had previously accepted Jesus by faith, they were beginning to replace their faith in Jesus’ work with faith in their own works. Instead of relying on the Holy Spirit to produce love for others in them, they were relying on what they could produce. This eventually created the anger and jealousy in them that turned them into biters.
How can we connect God’s Story scripture to our lives?
When we experience God’s love for us, it transforms our attitudes and actions toward others. Because God accepts us unconditionally, it frees us up to take our eyes off ourselves and focus on others. However, when we start thinking we must do certain things in order to keep God’s favor, we shift our focus from others back to ourselves.
Once this happens, we quickly become biters. Instead of looking for opportunities to share God’s love with others, we begin comparing ourselves to them. We are no longer basing our identity in what Jesus has done for us; rather, we are trying to create an identity based on what we can do for ourselves. The result is to live like a vicious, devouring animal.
How can we connect today’s story, God’s Story scripture, and our story to others?
The man in today’s story turned what should have been a completely harmless situation into a biting rage of fury. Similarly, the Galatians turned their experience of freedom in Jesus into selfish competition of consuming each other. This is what happens when our eyes are on ourselves, more interested in our own desires than in how God desires to use us for others.
Living out of our true identity, which is secure in God’s love for us, is very difficult. Many people around us base their identities in dating, popularity, or sports, which leads to much biting and devouring of others. May we let God develop a deep love within us for those people, exposing them to a way of life that can truly set them free.
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