Innocent as Dove, Shrewd as Serpent

Innocent as Dove, Shrewd as Serpent

Jesus taught us in Matt 10:16 to be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves when we are sent into the world.

This is a healthy tension, or rather, balance.

If we only have one without the other, we will fall into the extreme.

For example, if we are only innocent as doves, we will become sheeple, gullible and naive. We will say things like, "Judge not, or you will be judged." It's taken out of context by so many Christians. In fact, the Bible has so many passages that tell us to JUDGE.

A dove without a serpent becomes one who FAILS to judge. Ignorance is not bliss. It is naive.

So many pray for the leadership but use self-persuaded thoughts (thinking that it is Holy and Christian-ly) to claim that we have good leadership. That's innocence without wisdom.

It is right to pray. But it is wrong not to call out truths.

God is the Judge. We are called to imitate Him (Eph 5:1) as His children.

On the other hand, if we are only shrewd as serpents, we will become manipulative and self-serving. We will act corrupted with impure motives.

Henceforth, Jesus needed us to have both in order to strike a balance:

Dove: Pure motives ------ our heart before God

Serpent: Sharp mind ------ our mind before the world

When we stand before God, our heart conscience must be clear.

When we stand before men, our mind must be sharp and wise.

Our 'inward' must be like doves.

Our 'outward' must be like serpents.

This is how we deal with the world and judge with righteous judgements (John 7:24).

Christians are called to judge the world (1 Cor 6:2), but we must first judge ourselves (Matt 7:5).

The world has been very shrewd but without the innocence of the doves.

The church has been very innocent but without the shrewdness of the serpents.

The Kingdom of God must have both the innocence of the doves and the shrewdness of the serpents.

Maturity Is Built On Responsibility

Our son was appointed the leadership role in his class by his form teacher. 

He has actually shown natural leadership in his homeschooling years. He simply loves to lead (and talk).

When he was being interviewed by his teacher, he gave a mature response when posted with this question, "As you were homeschooled, are you able to cope with the school environment and changes? What if you are not selected to be the leader?"

He replied, "That's fine, because I believe that there are always other opportunities in the school."

More than three weeks have passed since he took on leadership. He faced both praises and criticisms from his classmates.

We shared with him the quote by Bill Johnson, "If you don't live by the praises of men, you won't die by their criticisms."

As much as it hurts us for him to feel a tad sad for being criticised by others, we know that we have to equip him for life. We shared with him that leadership encompasses making unpopular decisions as long as they are right. It means that sometimes you might feel lonely in the journey because others might not fully understand. When nobody dares to speak up, you must speak up for what is true and right. But you will also need to show grace when others make mistakes and connect with others relationally. That doesn't mean that you are trying to please them, but that grace and truth marry one another.

The transition from homeschooling to mainstream education is not small for him. Neither is it for us. The only aspect which we are constantly looking out for is the joy in him. He's naturally a jovial boy. 

As of now, he is still enjoying the mainstream school. We pray that it will remain this way. Any environment that kills joy is a toxic environment that must not be tolerated. We have seen so many kids having their joy killed by our local education system, which is backward and not progressive.

Being strong in academic does not mean that you are smart or intelligent. It only means that you know how to study, but not necessarily know how to learn. Studying and learning are two very different things.

We initially wanted J to go to a place where there is more fun in learning and less in academic competition. But he chose to enter one that is strong academically. 

When he was young, we made decisions for him because a child has yet to grasp hold of consequences. But now that he's a teen, he is empowered to make decisions after knowing the consequences. Despite knowing that he has to spend more than two hours in travel daily and get less sleep each day, he persisted in his decision.

We love him so much. But we are not the kind that will send him to school everyday to pamper him. Today's children have been taught entitlement by their parents.

Life choices have consequences. Maturity is built on responsibility. We must empower him to be responsible and independent. 

Thus, we pray whenever we feel like we want to step in. So that we can re-align our purpose for his life.