Don't Feed The Birds

Do you remember when you were a teenager and you could not wait until you could do whatever you wanted to do? I mean move out of your own house and be the boss of yourself. No more school or parent rules! You would dream about sleeping in, putting off cleaning your room and whatever else you did not want to do on the weekend or any day of the week for that matter. Freedom from unnecessary rules was all you wanted.

Well, I was at a beach restaurant a few weeks ago eating key-lime pie with a close friend. I read the sign: Do not feed the birds, which was adjacent to three grown men. You guessed it. They were feeding the birds. What about those poor birds? They are going to depend on people to feed them and themselves. The sign is there for their good. Now that I am older, I understand that rules are for my good! I thought to myself, just because you are grown up does not mean that you should not follow rules. Yet the reality is that we do get to choose. It tells us in Isaiah 1:9 that if we are willing and obedient, we will eat the good of the land. If not we will be devoured by the sword. Folks, they are consequences for everything. If you keep showing up to work late, you may have your pay docked or you may get fired. If you sleep around, you may get an STD. There are consequences for everything! But they are blessings when are obedient and live our lives right. This is the flip side to following the rules or signs around us! God gives us many signs. He uses His word and people. He can speak to us in many other ways, but we have to looking and reading the signs!

As I get older, I also see that rules are there to provide protection. You see, if I feed those birds, they are more apt to poop on me and or the eating area making it unsanitary. It’s just like in the Bible where it tells us not to forsake getting together with the congregation. I understand that as an adult there is no rule that I have to go to church. But when I don’t, I am less apt to grow, commune with God, and get to know good Godly people.



No matter what age you are, remember you have a choice. You can choose to feed or not feed the birds. The choice is up to you! What is God speaking to you? What signs is He sending you?

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hebrews%2010:25&version=NIV
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%201:19-20&version=NIV