I think most of us know the story of how to boil a frog. Throw a frog into a boiling pot of water and the frog will do everything to get out. Put a frog in a cool pot of water and he will stay put while the water heats up until it boils, and the frog is dead.
Now, I’m not sure why people spend time thinking about the best way to boil a frog, but I do understand how this applies to us.
Slowly, sometimes over very long periods of time, we become accustomed to things that will kill us. Sometimes they kill us physically, sometimes emotionally, sometimes they kill relationships, sometimes they kill our spirit. Because of this possibly fatal result, I think it is worthwhile to consider what pots of “cool water” we have been immersed in, and how to combat the tendencies we have to become accustomed to them until our final demise.
I call these deadly tendencies the noise of the world. There is so much noise. So much coming at us every day, all day. What noise?
Protests in the streets calling for the end of Israel, people supporting the killing of Jews around the world. Terrorists proudly post videos of their October 7th atrocities on the internet.
As I write this I anticipate next weekend will see angry, antagonistic protestors screaming at those who march in support of the sanctity of human life.
Jarring scenes of exploding tanks, trucks, and buildings in the Ukraine. All disconnecting and desensitizing us from the lives lost in these horrific moments.
Or, maybe the noise is a more personal assault on our senses. The shirtless man standing on a corner downtown at the crack of dawn, 35 degrees and this angry man is yelling curses and threats at those who walk by on their way to work.
Some of the most awful noise is the quiet kind. The noise that enters our heads and distracts us from our faith. The noise that tells us about everything that is hopelessly wrong in this world; politics, economy, what is wrong with what we believe, what is wrong with The Word of God, what is wrong with His Church, and of course, always, what is wrong with me and you, inside and out. The noise always highlights all of the things I am lacking, internally and externally.
How do we combat this noise, this unrelenting noise? A cacophony of voices that assault us if we live in this world.
For me, I must focus on the following examples of how God instructs me to combat this:
Proverbs 17:27-28… The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered. Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.
Ecclesiastes 3:7… a time to tear down and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak.
James 1:19… My beloved brothers, let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
Proverbs 15:1… A gentle answer turns away wrath.
I Thessalonians 4:11… Make it your ambition to pursue a quiet life; minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we commanded you to do so.
Psalm 46:10… Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
Undoubtedly you have other, similar verses that come to mind. The point being, if we don’t recognize that this world is the “pot of water” in which we find ourselves, we can become so accustomed to the rising temperatures that it is soon too late. We have been boiled. The way in which we combat it is simple, not easy, but simple.
We need to remind ourselves of the need to meditate on His Word for us. This horrific noise of the world is the natural result of the chaos of sin, the natural state of this world. However, God’s plan for us is different, He plans good for us. Out of this mess He offers peace, calm, quiet, and a refuge for us, if we but acknowledge and seek it. There in lies the contrast between what matters so much to our health, our sanity, and our lives. God is our Father, our refuge, our fortress, and our quiet place of safety.
I pray that you and I will remind each other of this and of what wonders await if we can but stay disciplined and focused on Him and His sanctuary from the chaos of sin.