Okay, so I’m trying not to be gross here, but I don’t know how else to describe what I found under the sofa in my living room. I didn’t think it had been that long since I vacuumed under there, but when I moved it, I uncovered something that I eventually determined to be … are you ready for this? … fossilized cat barf. So gross. See, this is why I’ll never be an archaeologist. Or a paleontologist. Well, that and also I’m not anywhere near smart enough. But also, dino-barf. It’s simply too disgusting.
I will admit to being at least a little fascinated. How in the world did it get under there? And how was it able to stay undisturbed long enough that it could morph into, well, whatever it was? What kind of a hurlasaurus was it from? Ptero-gag-tyl maybe? Regurgaraptor?
Yes, I know I’m probably mercilessly mixing my sciences. Sometimes I just can’t decide between historical and hysterical. You might’ve experienced some hysteria too if you were stuck trying to figure out how and why in his fairly recent history the cat had evidently tried to eat a shrub, then hidden all the evidence of his folly under the biggest piece of furniture in the room.
Whatever the fossil record reveals under the sofa, I do want to be especially careful in my spiritual life. You don’t have to go to the prehistoric data to find that foolishness can be so stinking sneaky. You can bet it’s easy to find it creeping into your thought patterns. Sometimes we even allow it to stay there, undisturbed. We find ourselves listening to what the world says so often and for so long that it starts to sound sort of right.
That’s one big reason we can never neglect the Word of God. His Word digs into the deepest parts of our thinking and shines the light on foolishness. It uncovers real wisdom. We’re talking about an entirely different kind of excavation. Prov. 15:14 tells us that “The mind of him who has understanding seeks knowledge and inquires after and craves it, but the mouth of the self-confident fool feeds on folly.”
I’ll just tell you straight out that a steady diet of folly isn’t going to settle well. Constantly feeding on media that’s completely counter to the Bible and contrary to everything we’re to be about as Christ-followers will produce a skewed view of right and wrong, then worry, fear, doubt, false pride and more. Foolishness. Folly begats more folly. We’d truly be better off eating a shrub.
The psalmist gives us a key to wise thinking and right living in Ps. 119:9-11: “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your Word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”
Notice any hints of folly slipping into your thinking? Dig into His Word. Really dig in. “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple,” (Ps. 19:7). His Word? It never gets old. Archaeologically speaking.
Unlike fossilized cat barf. Which incidentally I think I may have identified as Throw-up-asaurus Retch.