I’m not challenging God’s revelation in Scripture, but some Bible stories puzzle me. There’s a story in 2 Kings 2:23-24 about the prophet Elisha on his way to Bethel. Some boys came out of the city and shouted at him: “Go away, baldhead! Go away, baldhead!” Kind of humorous, isn’t it? Elisha cursed the boys in the name of the Lord. Now comes the kicker. “Then two she-bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.” Gruesome!

Many folk-tales are like this. I suppose this story originally had the message: don’t mess with a prophet. Maybe it also functioned as a warning to rowdy little boys, but how can this speak to us today?

I suppose one could take this as a warning: honor God’s messengers or you’re going to get it. No, I don’t like that. My well-worn Serendipity Bible suggests discussing these questions: “Do you ridicule people to their face, or just behind their back? What can you do about back-biting?” Ouch! That has a bite to it. I am ashamed at the number of times I’ve tried to score off of someone by making a dig at them, only to realize later how much I had hurt that person. I’ve learned it’s better to keep my mouth shut in the first place than it is to try to repair the damage after I’ve said something stupid. Maybe that’s the message we can take from this story. Watch what you say.

Well, I hope you were able to bear that insight of scripture.

Read Psalm 141:3 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne