I read a very interesting article today about caterpillars. It is absolutely amazing how much research you can accomplish while waiting a torturous amount of time to see a doctor! Anyway, it seems that a caterpillar's natural enemy is the wasp (which in summers past we have had flying around our house like an Air Force squadron) and the little woolly worms have no natural means of defence. So what do they do? They sing the blues to their friends, the ants.
Really!
Scientists have long noticed that caterpillars tend to attract gangs of ants who will, if their amigo is attacked, defend him! At first these scientists figured that the caterpillars must be feeding their bodyguards, but that didn't seem quite right. As soon as an ant got his portion of chow, he would head back for the anthill, while the other ants followed their caterpillar around like a faithful puppy dog. then someone finally hit upon the real key: sweet talk. The caterpillars, those silver-tongued devils, produce some kind of sound that attracts the ants. That is a nice piece of information to have if you are a caterpillar; or a Christian! Please consider a couple of life lessons from this...
First: if you have to buy friends with food (or anything else for that matter), you will only have friends as long as they are eating (or having some other desire met). Personal relationships that are built upon good communication always outlast those that rely on gifts.
Second: sweetness of speech builds a protective bond between people. The book of James warns all of us about the destructive powers of the tongue (James 1:26; James 3:1-10), and the caterpillar parable shows us its positive qualities.
So, as you crawl through life this week, speak as kindly as possible to everyone (Proverbs 12:25; 25:11; Colossians 4:6). In the never-ending battle to be promoted to a butterfly first-class, you will find that building deep bonds of Christian friendship is a key factor (Proverbs 18:24).
Ant It The Truth,
Pastor David Blevins
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