Someone asked me the other day what I thought of “so and so” (a certain communicator in the hip blog-God underworld of overtones.) I said something like, “He seems like a good guy but….”
“But what?” he shot back.
“Hmmmm…” I thought to myself, “How do I put what I am feeling into words? Ah, I know…”
I told my friend, “Sometimes when I hear certain people speak I get a mental image of a beautiful serpent wrapped around a branch of a fruit filled tree whispering ‘Hath God said?’ in my ear. And, to 
be honest, I get that image when I hear him speak.” My friend nodded knowingly, almost as though he had had the same mental picture without realizing it. Have you ever had the same slithering portrait in your mind when hearing someone preach his or her musings over all things eternal?
Often when I hear these philosophizing gurus of all things relevant I ask myself these questions with that sneeky snakey in mind:
“Does what this person say line up with Scripture?”
“Are they quoting more philosophers and humanly appointed ‘saints’ than Jesus and the Christ appointed apostles?”
“Do they only use the parts of Scripture that seem to line up with their opinions and avoid the rest?” (i.e. the gospels verses the epistles…as if they were in conflict!)
“Are they seeking to undermine my faith or strengthen it?”
Listen to every preacher, read every blog, study every book (including mine) with these questions in mind. See if the mental image of a slitering snake jumps up and bites you or not. Then measure their assertions by the Word of God.
Don’t buy the lie that Eve did. Make some rattlesnake boots instead.
