0625. 610. Parasites

610. Parasites

“My Familiar Friend… Which Did Eat of My Bread”

Psa_41:9

Captain Cecil Rawling, in describing his explorations in New Guinea, among many other things says: “It is quite impossible for anyone who has not visited these parts of New Guinea to realise the density of the forest growth. The vegetation, through which only the scantiest glimpses of the sky can be obtained, appears to form, as it were, two great horizontal strata. The first comprises the giant trees, whose topmost boughs are 150 feet or more above the ground; the other, the bushes, shrubs, and trees of lesser growth, which never attain a greater height than thirty to forty feet. Such is the richness of the soil that not one square foot remains untenanted, and the never-ending struggle to reach upwards towards the longed-for light goes on silently and relentlessly. Creepers and parasites in endless variety cling to every stem, slowly but surely throttling their hosts. From tree to tree their tentacles stretch out, seeming such a close and tangled mass that the dead and dying giants of the forest are prevented from falling to the ground.”

There are moral and spiritual parasites which throttle, kill, injure, or retard the growth of the spiritual life.

1. The parasite of sloth will hinder the grace of watchfulness as it did the virgins—Mat_25:5.

2. The parasite of worldliness will kill the grace of devotion, as it did in Demas—2Ti_4:10.

3. The parasite of pride will devastate the grace of humility, as it did with the Devil—1Ti_3:6.

4. The parasite of unbelief will keep down the grace of faith, as is seen in the children of Israel—Heb_3:17-19.

5. The parasite of self-elation will kill the grace of self-denial, as is stated of Diotrephes—3Jn_1:9.

6. The parasite of avarice will stifle the grace of reality, as is evidenced in Achan—Jos_7:21.

7. The parasite of covetousness will strangle the grace of generosity, as is manifest in Balaam—2Pe_2:15.

By: DR. F. E. MARSH