The Piranha fish, also known as the “River Devil” swims in the vast basin of the Amazon River.  No other fresh-water creature has such a grim reputation for aggressiveness and ferocity.  Only about the size of a Sunfish, the Piranha killing machine involves swimming in schools of dozens to hundreds stalking the Amazon River in search of prey to satisfy their voracious appetites.  When they find a victim, they attack it at full speed using their razor sharp, triangular teeth, to strip the flesh from it’s bones, churning the water to foam and dying it red with blood.

     As a result, Piranha infested waters present a unique problem for the Brazilian herdsmen as they free-graze their precious cattle from one grazing area to another.  The reason is, from time to time, they have to herd them across the Amazon or one of its tributaries which harbors these killer fish.

     The solution is both painful and expensive.  In order to get the herd across to a better pasture, a cow has to be sacrificed by taking it downstream and forcing it into the river.  Immediately the sacrificial beast is swarmed by the deadly Piranha, their jaws ripping the flesh with lightening speed.  While the Piranha are feeding and distracted, the herdsmen quickly drive the rest of the cattle across in safety.  In 20 minutes nothing is left of the sacrificial animal except a skeleton.  But by this time the herd is safe on the other side.

NATURE-ly SPEAKING — a spiritual principle can be observed.  Like the herd of cattle, mankind is in a similar predicament.  He is stuck in a bad “pasture” (this earth) doomed for eternal death.  However, there is another “pasture” (heaven) which guarantees eternal life. But the two pastures are seperated by a “river” known as sin.  Throughout history mankind has tried to get over that river of sin to salvation by bridging it with “good works,” “church membership,” and among a multitude of methods, “religions of many kinds.”  All totally useless.  But, like the Brazilian herdsmen, God presented a  solution to get His chosen “herd” across the sin-cursed gap.  He provided His one and only Son to be a sacrifice, thus bridging the gap from eternal death to eternal life in Heaven.  God allowed His Son, Jesus, to die a horrible death on a cross and then raised Him from the grave 3 days later.  When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave, he paid the penalty for our sin and made it possible for mankind to attain heaven and eternal life rather than hell and eternal damnation.

     The Bible says, “God is on one side and all the people on the other side, and Christ Jesus, Himself man, is between them to bring them together.” (1 Timothy 2:5, Living Bible). To take advantage of God’s sacrifice and ensure eternal life in Heaven, man must respond by believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and receive Him by personal acceptance.  “But as many as receive Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. (John 1:12).

     To do this simply pray and tell God you want to follow Him through faith in His Son, Jesus the Christ.  Here’s a sample prayer:  Father in Heaven, I come to you in the name of your Son,  Jesus Christ.  I desire to be one of your children.  I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He died on the cross, was buried, and rose again, three days later.  I believe this sacrifice was designed so that my sins will be washed away through his shed blood.  I now accept Jesus Christ as my Personal Savior.  Amen.”

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world (put your name here), that He gave His only begotten Son, that if whosoever (put your name here) believes in Him, (he/she) shall not perish, but (put your name here) will have everlasting life.

     Way back in 1872, a Jamaican sugar planter, W.B. Espeut, was having some serious problems in his fields.  Rats!  They were all over the place.  What to do?  Bring in the rat killer brigade, of course!  Mongooses.  There were none in Jamaica, so he boarded a ship called the “Merchantman,” and traveled across the ocean to Calcutta, India.  There he captured four male and five female mongooses (one pregnant) and took them back to Jamaica.  His solution was so successful he created a new Jamaican export; selling mongooses to surgar cane farmers on other islands.

     When word reached the islands of Hawaii, the farmers there saw an answer to their rat problems!  So, in 1883, the Hawaiian sugar cane farmers ordered 72 mongooses from the Jamaicans.  And, that’s when their troubles began….

     Oh, yes, the animals got rid of the rats, but their voracious appetites spilled over to feasting on other, ecological necessary, species.  An examination of the stomachs of 180 individuals revealed insects, spiders, snails, slugs, frogs, lizards, snakes, birds, eggs of birds and reptiles, all kinds of rodents, crabs, fish and fruits.  They also were known to catch mammals many times their size, up to the size of hares and even the young of white-tailed deer.  Today Hawaii has more endangered species per square mile than anywhere else on the planet.   All this, thanks to the introduction of an innocent rat killer turned monster.  It’s hard to imagine something so innocent could turn so deadly.

NATURE-ly SPEAKING a spiritual lesson can be learned.  Sin often starts very innocently.  At the time it might seem very insignificant and, perhaps, useful.  True, the mongoose did a good job getting rid of the rat problem, but that “good” mushroomed into an ecological disaster.  Our first parents, Adam and Eve, discovered this sad truth when they ate the forbidden fruit and brought sin into the world.  It seemed so innocent and insignificant….

     Also, remember Abraham and Lot when they parted company?  The story is in Genesis 13.  The split was amicable.  But what Lot thought was a good move deteriorated into disaster.  Read the story and note how gradual was his slide.  First he looked, saw, and chose the “fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar.” (This was his first fatal step.)  Next, he moved his tents to a place near Sodom, among the cities of the plain. (That was his second fatal step.)  Finally, in Genesis 19 we see him living in sinful Sodom as a respected citizen sitting  at the city  gate.

     Or, remember the story of Samson in Judges chapter 16?  His first step downward was falling in love with a Philistiine woman from the enemy camp.  Her name was Delilah.  This provided the wedge his enemies used to find the secret to his strength.  However, before he fell, the crafty prophet outwitted them time after time.   But as crafty as he was, the persistence of this determined woman was too much, and he eventually revealed his secret to her which led to his doom.

     Both Lot and Samson allowed sin to enter their lives one step at a time.  Just like the sugar plantation farmers brought in the mongooses for what seemed like an innocent and sure solution to their problem of rats.  But even as the mongooses voracious appetites demanded more and more critters, so sin demands more and more of a person’s soul.  Even as mongooses brought an ecological disaster to the islands, so sin brings doom, like a cancer, to the soul.

     But here’s good news!  Today, through skilled trappers and certain types of poisons the affected islands are at least fighting back against the mongooses, and in some areas are seeing success.

     And here’s  even greater news!  Even though both Lot and Samson were down, they were not doomed.   As they cried out to God in repentance, his Grace reached down and restored them.  Samson to a feat in his death even greater than all his exploits while living.  And Lot was saved with his two daughters from the destruction of Sodom.

     In the same way, lives riddled by sin have a sure escape mechanism.  No matter where a person is in the cycle of sin, there is redemption through the shed blood of Jesus, the Christ.

     The Bible says: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9).