This may sound a little fishy to you, but I guarantee it is absolutely true.
Dare 2 Share - The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal GOD had made. He spoke to the Woman: "Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?" (Genesis 3:1)
This may sound a little fishy to you, but I guarantee it is absolutely true. If you go to an area where live crabs are sold, you will notice that they are sold out of an open barrel. Now if you’re the crab, don’t you think you would see the light and make a run for the ocean before you ended up on someone’s plate? All the same, there is no need for a lid- and do you know why? As soon as a crustacean acts on the urge to escape by climbing out, the others will immediately grab him and yank him back into the barrel. No wonder they are so crabby!
There’s a definite lesson to be learned here. Have you ever thought about people being like the crabs in the barrel? Not that we are armor plated pincer wielding creatures- rather that we behave like them.
What I mean is this- some of you reading this right now are trapped in a tub of temptation, and you know that it’s only a matter of time before you are eaten alive by the consequences of your actions. You desperately want to get out, but every time you try there are a few ‘friends’ who ensnare you from behind and pull you back down. It’s what’s popularly known as peer pressure, but now you can also picture it as ‘crab-grabbing’.
Crab-grabbing starts when you decide that the Christian way just doesn’t quite offer enough with regards to fun, fulfillment, and the future. You remember, kinda like Eve in the Garden of Eden? Temptation comes to you in the form of friends, circumstances, or even from your own sinful mind. The next step is when you get caught in the snare of sin and thrown into the barrel. Then you wake up one day and realize that the waters you were swimming in were being watched by skillful spiritual beings who had their nets primed and ready for you. Pretty soon you find yourself wanting to get out, but the struggle just doesn’t seem worth it.
Let me ask you something…would it be worth it for the crab? Of course! He has a choice between being freed and being fricasseed! If you could speak crab-tongue (or whatever they use to communicate), you would yell “fight little pincher dude! Crawl like the wind!” Or maybe you would just reach down and thump the other ones off and throw him back in the water yourself.
Anyway, the point is simple…as I mentioned before, I know there are some of you out there in the barrel- and you need to fight. Believe me, it is worth the all the rejection you will face from your so-called ‘friends’.
So what are some anti-crab-grabbing steps? First, break the grasp of whomever or whatever keeps pulling you back down. This could be getting into a whole new set of relationships, getting rid of cable, moving the computer to a public place in your house, changing your reading habits, offering someone forgiveness etc. Next, get out of your shell. What I mean is- get into some kind of accountability scenario. For example, I have people in my life who ask me very personal and pointed questions about my attitudes and actions. Is it fun? Are you kidding? I hate when I’m caught red handed with sin in my life- but then Jesus reminds me that He died to set me free. Speaking of which- the final step is to focus on Freedom Himself- Christ.
Here are a few verses that may help you get a jump on jumping out of the barrel:
No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it. (I Corinthians 10:13)
In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (Hebrews 12:4)
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" (Matthew 14:31)
Questions:
1) Are you in the barrel right now?
2) What people and/or circumstances are crab-grabbing you?
3) What is the first step you need to do to escape?
Memory Verse:
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)
