SHAKE IT OFF
As Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand. The people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said to each other, “A murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live.” But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed. Acts 28:3-5 (NLT)
Sometimes, after a kid gets hurt, I hear a parent tell them to shake it off. Depending on the situation, this can be helpful or harmful because some things don’t shake off that easily. Healing can require time, and it’s a journey. A parent or coach is making a point to release that thing. Keep moving forward. In the passage above, Paul literally, not metaphorically, shakes a poisonous snake off his hand.
This might be one of the most underrated passages in the Bible. Talk about a man’s man here. A snake bites Paul and then Paul shakes it off like a mosquito buzzing around him. What struck me about this is when Paul shook off the venomous snake, he didn’t shake it off toward others. He destroyed it in the fire. It would spread the venom around if he shook it off onto others. Bitterness, sin and self-pity are venoms that must be destroyed in our lives. If we don’t destroy them, they’ll always spread to others. Our sin never happens in isolation and always makes its way into a community. That’s why when we face suffering, the venom, the pains of this world, we must not let it latch onto us. We must be faithful to see it destroyed through the power of the Spirit in our lives. In the same way, no one would willingly keep a poisonous snake loose around themselves and others. We must make an unwavering commitment to disallow the poison of bitterness and self-pity to roam around. It’ll always keep us from the peace the Holy Spirit is giving us, and worse, it’ll poison our community. Proverbs 27:17 (NLT) says As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. We’ll either strengthen the community we’re part of or poison it. Whatever we suffer from, we must shake off whatever bitterness or self-pity creeps into our lives. Let God destroy it in the fires of holiness.
APPLICATION: Whatever sin tries to latch onto you today, shake it off and keep it free from your life.
PRAYER: Ask the Holy Spirit if any bitterness or self-pity is affecting you. If you struggle to let it go, ask Him to help you see how it will poison the community around you.