03.28.08

The foolishness of a man twists his way, and his heart frets against the Lord. - Proverbs 19:3.

Danielle Herndon and her mother were on their way home to Indianapolis on Interstate 70 when Rex Shannon suddenly passed them off the road on the grass. Shannon then crossed the highway in front of them before his car flipped and crashed. Danielle did what most people would do - she called 911 and ran over to the car to try to help.

I once saw a car flip several times in front of me while driving in Missouri after a wheel came off of a truck and the driver tried to dodge it. Another man who had stopped to help went down to the car with me which was laying on its top but the driver was okay and he crawled out of the window about the time we arrived. However, sometimes when a vehicle is involved in a violent crash the fuel tank may be ruptured or a fuel line may come loose causing a fire or explosion and that was on my mind that day in Missouri. I think that what Danielle did was a very courageous thing to do.

Approaching the crashed car Danielle says, “I thought he was dead.” She says, “I leaned down and asked him ’Are you okay?’ I didn’t see any blood or anything. ‘Are you okay? Is everything okay?’ and he started cussing me.” It was a complete shock when Shannon suddenly ran toward Danielle’s mother and when Danielle got in the way he began hitting and biting her. He was still biting her when police officers arrived responding to the 911 call. Danielle has a broken finger and her nose may be broken in addition to the bite injuries. After officers arrived Shannon kicked and spit on them. Shannon has been charged with five felonies.

Biting the hand that feeds you is a term that I think is from the distant past. You can feed a snake but it may bite you even though you just fed it. The same thing may happen with a bear, or a lion, or even a sometimes a horse. To our human minds it seems completely illogical that after we help an animal or a fellow human being that they would turn around and bite us! This is the kind of thing that Solomon is referring to in Proverbs 19:3. The New International Version makes this easier to understand as the verse is translated as: “A man's own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the LORD.” The New Living Translation makes it even clearer: “People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord.” In other words they bite the hand that feeds them!

Sadly, there are a whole multitude of people just like Rex Shannon. They may not be drunk like he was and they may not be attacking another human being but they are still biting the hand that feeds them. I’ve seen or read about a huge number of people who have messed up their lives through substance abuse, or selfishness, or greed, or promiscuity, or dishonesty, or by something else. You would think that they would be reverent and respectful toward God and call out to Him for help. However, many of them shake their fist at God and curse Him, blaming Him for their problems instead of themselves.

In 1 Peter 5:7 Peter says that God, “cares for you.” That’s right, God cares about you and He loves you. Peter also says that we can place all of our anxiety, all of our cares, all of our concerns upon God. So, instead of cursing God when bad things happen, instead of biting the hand that feeds you, why not ask Him for some help because He is the One who can help you. He “cares for you.”