What's a Little Poison?
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
~ 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
Curare is used to poison the tips of blow-gun darts and arrows in South American tribal hunting.
That's one of those bits of information most people never thought they would need. Amazingly, after a recent heist from the Dutch National Museum of Science and Medicine, that information is being shared among the folks who live in the Netherlands.
You see, this is the problem: recently, thieves broke into the museum and escaped with a refrigerator-sized safe. Inside the safe was a small amount of money and a glass bottle filled with curare. The museum received the poison as part of a collection, but those in authority decided they didn't want the stuff laying around.
The museum director said, they were "going to have it destroyed safely."
Sadly, the theft took place before the poison could be eliminated.
Now the police are warning people not to touch the dried-out poison which looks like a black cube of sugar. They use the word "touch" advisedly, since even a touch can prove to be deadly or debilitating.
Now you might, like the authorities, wonder why anybody might steal the stuff. All kinds of reasons, plausible and implausible, have been suggested. Some are
* somebody just wants to have it -- sort of like a morbid souvenir;
* somebody wants to use it, getting rid of small animals like a native hunter;
* somebody thinks they can use it medicinally; curare is used as a muscle relaxant during euthanasia in the Netherlands.
No matter the reason, the police want the public to know this is deadly stuff which has come in a little package -- sort of like a great many sins.
The reality is Satan specializes in taking damning sin and making it seem small and inconsequential to the person being tempted. Adam and Eve corrupted the universe when they took a chunk from a good-looking piece of forbidden fruit.
When the devil decided to tempt the Savior, He began by enticing Jesus to take common stones and transform them into bread. "After all," Satan suggested, "what could be wrong with that?" The second temptation, for Jesus to throw Himself off the temple, was grander in scope, but still didn't seem that dangerous. It is only with Jesus' last temptation to worship Satan and rule the world that the enticement seems significant.
Since Satan is so good at what he does, and we are pretty bad at resisting his suggestions, we need to depend on the Holy Spirit. We who have been saved by the Christ need to come to the Third Member of the Trinity and ask Him to lead us, direct us, and give us a spirit of discernment. Only in this way can temptation be resisted, and the Savior be proclaimed.
Dear Lord, direct my thoughts, my actions and words, so Jesus may be glorified and Satan be frustrated. In the Savior's Name I pray. Amen.The above devotion was inspired by a number of sources, including one written by Arden Dier for Newser on June 6, 2018. Those who wish to reference that article may do so at the following link, which was fully functional at the time this devotion was written: http://www.newser.com/story/261566/museum-planned-to-destroy-deadly-poison-thieves-got-to-it-first.html
In Jesus,
Chaplain Kenny
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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Devotion by Lutheran Hour Ministries. Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
Curare is used to poison the tips of blow-gun darts and arrows in South American tribal hunting.
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