One day a scorpion was walking along the riverbank trying to find a way to get across the river that separated him from his desired location when he came across a frog sitting alongside the riverbank. The scorpion walked up to the frog and asked the frog if he would take him across the river by giving him a ride on his back. The frog quickly replied, "no he would not give the scorpion a ride." The scorpion then asked him why he would not give the ride. The frog replied, "because Mr. Scorpion if I were to give you a ride on my back we would only get half the way across and you would sting me and then I would drown." Quickly the scorpion replied, "but Mr. Frog, if I stung you then you would drown and if you drown then I would drown also. The frog thought for a minute and then said, "I guess you're right, then I will give you a ride." The scorpion jumps on the frogs back and they start crossing the river. Half way across the river the scorpion just drills the frog with his stinger. The frog immediately starts to panic as he feels the venom race through his veins and he quickly begins to become paralyzed. Just as he is taking his last breath and about to go down, the frog looks at the scorpion and asks "but why?" The scorpion replies, "because that is my nature".
I find this story amazing in that it describes me in relation to my old nature vs that of my new nature reborn in Christ, my personal Savior. You see, I look back in retrospect and see the old me who never gave much thought to listening to his conscience. Rather, most times I found it easy to suppress its moral alarm by justifying away morality for selfish pleasure. Now however, the trade off of pleasure for morality isn't so easy, and so Im left with a battle in the mind -- should I, or shouldn't I? Well, most times I don't, and I'm happy with that. I believe it is by the grace of God, and through the strength of my Savior, Jesus, that I am able to with stand the temptations that come. Yet, once too often, I fail in my attempts to keep morality, rather than trading it off again. It is then that I am left with the obvious reality of my old nature. Apostle Paul once said:
"I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good. But I can't help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes me do these evil things. I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can't make myself do right. I want to, but I can't. When I want to do good, I don't. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. But if I am doing what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it.It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin?"
The reality of my old nature being a scorpion, is something that isn't easy to admit. Yet, I do admit it in the hopes that my new nature may shine in truth. Now, Im neither a scorpion or frog. Not a serpent or dove. Now I am a sheep, and Jesus, the shepherd leads me. And, as the Apostle Paul answers his own question as to who will free him from his life of sin with:
"Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord," we all that see the difference between our old and new nature, say Amen!
I find this story amazing in that it describes me in relation to my old nature vs that of my new nature reborn in Christ, my personal Savior. You see, I look back in retrospect and see the old me who never gave much thought to listening to his conscience. Rather, most times I found it easy to suppress its moral alarm by justifying away morality for selfish pleasure. Now however, the trade off of pleasure for morality isn't so easy, and so Im left with a battle in the mind -- should I, or shouldn't I? Well, most times I don't, and I'm happy with that. I believe it is by the grace of God, and through the strength of my Savior, Jesus, that I am able to with stand the temptations that come. Yet, once too often, I fail in my attempts to keep morality, rather than trading it off again. It is then that I am left with the obvious reality of my old nature. Apostle Paul once said:
"I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good. But I can't help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes me do these evil things. I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can't make myself do right. I want to, but I can't. When I want to do good, I don't. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. But if I am doing what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it.It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin?"
The reality of my old nature being a scorpion, is something that isn't easy to admit. Yet, I do admit it in the hopes that my new nature may shine in truth. Now, Im neither a scorpion or frog. Not a serpent or dove. Now I am a sheep, and Jesus, the shepherd leads me. And, as the Apostle Paul answers his own question as to who will free him from his life of sin with:
"Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord," we all that see the difference between our old and new nature, say Amen!
