Volume 30, No. 18                                                  
May 1, 2005

Biting Remarks

    They’re the most bloodthirsty figures in history.  Over the centuries, they’ve killed millions, brought down entire civilizations, and claimed some of humanity’s greatest leaders.  The enemy that’s repeatedly changed the course of history?  Mosquitoes.

   As early as 500 B.C., an Indian priest named Susruta taught his followers that mosquitoes spread malaria, one of the world’s most common and deadly diseases. His warning was ignored for 2,400 years.  So through the ages, the bloodsucking bugs were treated as little more than a nuisance while they did immeasurable damage.  

   In ancient Iraq, for example, Alexander the Great was invincible on the battlefield but died at 33 from malaria caused by a single mosquito bite. His dream of a united Greek Empire soon fell apart and widespread malaria infections sped the decline of Greek civilization.  A similar fate befell the Roman Empire in 410 when malaria made it easy for invading Germanic tribes to conquer the Eternal City.

   By the year 1593, the mosquito scourge had spread to the New World where African slaves were sent, already infected with malaria and yellow fever.  As those slaves were bitten by domestic mosquitoes, the diseases were passed along in epidemics that devastated both the colonial and aboriginal populations.

   Just as the American colonies would later defy the British king, English reformer Oliver Cromwell toppled Royalty with his army and abolished the monarchy.  But in 1658, he, too, died of malaria, clearing the way for the return of the British Crown.

  Thirty-two years later, history took another twist when mosquitoes spread yellow fever among British sailors headed from Barbados to attack the French in Canada.  If that mission had succeeded, the  French may’ve been pushed out of the colony, drastically altering the development of Canadian politics and culture.  The stakes were just as high for an expedition sent by Napoleon to New Orleans in 1802 to reinforce his claim to Louisiana and put down a slave rebellion in Haiti.  Of 33,000 French troops, 29,000 were killed by yellow fever.  Louisiana joined the U.S. and Haiti became independent.

   It wasn’t until 1902 that British army surgeon Ronald Ross got the Nobel Prize for linking mosquitoes and malaria.  Even then, the disease decimated armies in World War Two and Vietnam, where 53 of every 1,000 soldiers were hit with malaria.  Today, mosquitoes still spread death and devastation, from dengue fever to West Nile disease.

   In much the same way, seemingly small and insignificant threats can have a profound effect on each of us and change the very course of our lives if we ignore the dangers they pose.  Sins or decisions that, on the surface, appear harmless often come back to bite us.  They draw blood, figuratively, infecting us with attitudes and behaviours that sap our spiritual strength and leave us vulnerable to the wasting disease of worldliness.

   Most often, we’re vulnerable because — like Alexander and Cromwell — we’re focused on the big battles of life, armed and ready for the major struggles that come our way.  What we don’t pay much attention to are those pesky, persistent doubts and temptations that won’t leave us alone and put the bite on us when we least expect it.  

   Though we sometimes end up in spiritual trouble because of one big, bold, bad decision, those turning points are usually preceded by many smaller, innocent-looking choices that prepare the way.  No matter how minor they seem, each compromise of our faith and every accommodation of what we know is wrong, puts us at risk.  And the consequences don’t always stop with us.  As the prophet Haggai proclaimed, good is not contagious but sin is (Haggai 2:12,13).  It can spread like an epidemic, harming those who love and look up to us, and hobbling the army of God.

   The solution is to stay out of swampy moral areas, avoid the half-Light of spiritual dusk, and wear the protective clothing of love “which is the most important piece of clothing.” (Col. 3:14)  Apply the Holy Spirit liberally to repel evil, and take the bite out of sin.

By Rick Gamble, published in Cross Current, the weekly newsletter of the Followers of Christ church family in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.  Reprint at will in not-for-profit publications.  To receive these free weekly articles via email, send a note to sgamble@bfree.on.ca