Fitcher's Bird

For the first time in my life, I am reading through the Grimm Brother's Fairy Tales (I have to do some intellectual reading like this occasionally). I never realized how very gory some of their stories are. For example: Fitcher's Bird.

There once was a wizard, Fitcher, who would dress as a beggar. When a young woman would come to her door to give him bread, he had the power to touch her and she would leap into his bag. Once home, he would give her anything she wanted, but warned her she would die if she lost the egg he gave her or went into the forbidden room.

A family of three girls, one by one, got taken. The first two were caught having peeked into the room. The wizard sawed them into pieces and left them in the secret blood-soaked chamber with all the other murdered girls.

The third sister managed to enter the room, but avoided being caught. The wizard was then under her control. She managed to piece her sisters together and trick the wizard into carrying them, now alive, back to her parents. She escaped while he was gone by dressing in feathers like a bird. Then her brothers and friends trapped the wizard and his friends in the house and burned them alive.

Reading in the book of Proverbs, I am struck by the similarity of this story with the illustrations Solomon gave to his sons to entreat them to follow wisdom.

The adulterous wife and the lady fool are synonymous (fool in Hebrew means morally deficient...of course, this goes way beyond just adultery, but adultery is the pictures the teacher uses).

Wisdom too is pictured as a lady. This female imagery, I can only guess, is also an illustration. Each boy will grow up and pursue either one "lady" or the other. As natural as the pursuit of a woman to be his wife, so these personified women...Lady Wisdom and Lady Fool...will one or the other be the quest of his life.

Here is where the parallel to the fairy tale is striking.

Speaking of the adulterous or Lady Fool, he teaches...

Do not let your heart turn to her ways
   or stray into her paths.
Many are the victims she has brought down;
   her slain are a mighty throng.
Her house is a highway to the grave,
   leading down to the chambers of death. . . . .
   ...she says to those who lack judgment
'Stolen water is sweet;
   food eaten in secret is delicious!
But little do they know that the dead
      are there,
   that her guests are in the depths of
      the grave. (Proverbs 7:25-27; 9:17-18)

The resemblance between the fairy tale and the teachings of Solomon split here. In the story, the girls had no way to resist the path of wickedness. Their only hope was to outsmart him.

Solomon warns that action must be taken before the temptation comes knocking. DO NOT even step foot in her path, he warns his children. Stay away from her neighborhood. If you go near, you will be caught, outwitted, and destroyed. There is no way to escape unscathed.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. (Ephesians 6:10-11, cf 1 Corinthians 6:18 and 2 Timothy 2:22)

We are not helpless slaves of fate unless we are still slaves of sin. If this is where you are, you were born in the wizard's bloody chamber and have no hope to excape from dying there...except one.

James—The Big Picture

James is one of my favourite books of the New Testament. I have been working for some time to memorize all five chapters. One thing that helps is to understand how each section flows logically into the next.

Have you noticed how easy it is to isolate a verse? It's like handling a piece of a puzzle. Oh, I know. We go back to check context with the chapter and surrounding passages, but to get the BIG picture...

Well, for myself, I wanted to look at the big picture of the book of James. I thought I'd share it with you in case it is helpful.

James, though a brother of Jesus, sees himself only as a servant of God and Jesus. He writes to Christian Jews scattered and persecuted in various nations.

James begins and ends his letter by encouraging the believers to persevere in spite of the suffering, because it is the means to maturity and completeness in their faith. The good that is promised is worth the struggle and the waiting. (James 1:2-4, 12; 5:7-11)

When believers find they lack wisdom (are incomplete), James admonishes them to ask God. Since wisdom is God's will for His children, doubting He will give it is a sign that a man is "double minded" in his walk.

Temptation is not from God. Good gifts are from God. If we are led astray by "gifts" of temptation, we are deceived and will miss God's perfect gifts. God "does not change like shifting shadows."

We need to repent of the sins of tongue and life that we've committed. The cure to avoid future temptation is to study and apply God's Word. Our relationship with God will be evident by our care of the helpless and our purity from worldliness.

Wealth is often in the hand of the oppressor (James 2 & 5). Yet even in the hand of a believer, it should never lead to special treatment by other believers. The rich should be humbled knowing their riches will not last and are not what is ultimately important (2:1-5; 1:9-11).

All people should be loved as we love ourselves. No favouritism allowed. Showing favouritism is breaking a the law of God. Breaking one law makes us guilty of breaking the law of God. Instead, we should show mercy to all, and God will judge us mercifully.

Is it possible to be saved by faith and not show it in how we live? NO! Faith that is not accompanied by action is dead...not really faith at all. Even the demons believe in God.

Watch your tongue. Nothing destroys or leads someone astray easier than the wagging tongue. It is inconceivable that a mouth that truly praises God can also slander other humans who God made.

Envy and selfish ambition are of the devil, signs of disorder, and seeds for evil practice. God's wisdom will show by a life that's "pure, peaceloving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere."

When we pursue selfish ends, God will not answer our prayer. Fights and quarrels amongst God's family are signs of selfish ambition. We need to repent and seek God. If we resist the devil, he will flee from us as we submit and humble ourselves before God. If we continue to slander and judge each other, we should fear God's judgment.

If God tells us to give or to do something, we should not put it off. Don't say that after you accomplish X,Y, & Z, you'll have what you need to obey God. Putting off what He asks of us is sin.

God's judgment will come on oppressors. Be sure to be waiting for God and not oppressing your brothers and sisters in the faith. Instead, pray for yourself, praise God, and pray for others.

Rather than condemning brothers and sisters for their weaknesses, we should confide in one another about our struggles (be a "safe place" for other believers to be honest about theirs), so that we can pray for one another. If we do this, we will be healed from sin's strongholds. What could be greater than rescuing a fellow Christian from the deadly spiral of sin!

In summary, watch your tongue and watch your life; don't trust in riches (your own or somebody else's); do not slander or condemn a believer in your thoughts or conversation, but show mercy as you desire God to be merciful to you; depend on God for all you need and let His life flow through you producing godly works.

And finally, never give up living the truth! Christ is coming soon!