Death in the Pot
By Kurt Bomar
Avery County
A Word to Parents (and Grandparents) of Young Children:
As a parent of five children, I was always trying to reach that right balance of protecting my children from the influence of a corrupt world, while at the same time, preparing them for the day when they would have to make their way into that same world.
To make matters worse, I found that the internet had a way of violating many of the protective hedges that I had planted around them. I concluded that even with my best efforts, they would be unduly influenced by a sinful world at a much earlier age than I wanted.
There is a short story in the Bible that gave me comfort and also provided an answer for me. You can find it in 2 Kings 4:38-41. I call it the “Death in the Pot” story.
Here we see Elisha ordering a banquet for a company of prophets visiting him. One of his servants accidentally put some poisonous gourds in the stew that was being prepared. No one knew about it until they had eaten some of the stew and were starting to feel the effects of the poison. They cried out to Elisha, “there is death in the pot!”
That’s the way parents feel sometimes. We do the best to protect our children, but we simply cannot filter out all the gourds that will make their way into our children’s stew. Therefore, their little formative minds are poisoned. What do we do?
We do what Elisha did. “Get some flour,” he said. And he mixed the flour into the stew. The story says that the flour neutralized the poison and the prophets were able to finish and enjoy the stew.
Our flour is the word of God. We may not be able to stop the evil influences of the world, but we can give our children a daily dose of flour to neutralize the effects of the world.
2 Tim. 3:16 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”
We have an anti-dote much more powerful than the poison! Have devotions daily with your children!
Selah (think about it)
Kurt Bomar
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Kurt Bomar is pastor of Walnut Grove Church located in Avery County. You are welcome to join them on Sundays at 11:00 AM for worship! (When we are allowed to meet in the building again)
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