Termites

by Joey Davis

Termites! Of all of God's creatures, termites would have to be one of the ugliest most destructive. Rarely do you ever see a termite. As a matter of fact, the only time you will see a termite is after it has lived its life; destroyed all that it can, and is swarming in a last burst of activity just before it dies.

We recently had to replace a portion of the flooring in our home due to a combination of termite and water damage. I was totally amazed at the extent of damage that these little critters did to my seemingly stable house. Nothing except fire and natural disasters can destroy a home with such precision.

Termites thrive in wet dark places. They cat through the wood in a structure, and then use dirt the same color as the wood they have eaten to mask the damage that they have done. This dirt mask keeps them from being exposed to the light and air. They only expose themselves to the cements, such as light and fresh air, when they have done so much damage that they cannot hide themselves anymore. Their work eventually leads to their lack of protection and ultimately to their death. It would be fair to say that they are their own worst enemy as well as the enemy of any homeowner. . .

. . .. Physical structures are not the only buildings that are destroyed by termites. As we are studying in our sermon series "Building Job the Ground Up," we all possess a physical house not made with hands that is eternal in the heavens ( 2 Corinthians 5:1). This house is under attack as well. Satan doesn't want this structure to" be constructed. And sadly, he uses human termites to erode the faith of a Christian who is building his faith.

These termites mask their deeds because exposure to "the Light," Jesus Christ, would destroy them and their work. Like pests, these termites are usually found within the structure and, I'm sad to say, are rarely found until they have done a great deal of damage.

However, they arc also their own worst enemy. We know that works of darkness will all eventually be brought to light. I just hope that they arc exposed before any of our eternal houses are destroyed. Watch out for termites!

P.S. Thanks to all of the people who came and decorated my house on my birthday. Your zeal to celebrate, even in my absence, is touching to say the least! It only took 3 hours to clean up!

The above article appeared in the Mt. Juliet Messenger on July 6, 1997.

Termite Story

by Joey Davis

Last week I wrote about termites. The damage done by these pests is swift and quite decisive. It destroys the building and leaves nothingness. Here's a little termite story. . .

. . . Several years ago, a small group of preachers decided that the Lord's church had become too steeped in tradition and therefore had become stagnant. To a point this may have been true. In their own words, the church was worshiping in "truth" but had lost its "spirit." This reference to John 4 made sense at the time and seemed a worthy cause for which to fight So, their mission began.

Out of this mission sprang a good idea. They would develop seminars and meetings in several different locations where brethren could come together and hear the gospel preached as well as fellowship with one another. Again, a good idea!

The ulterior motive of these meetings was to disallow the "traditional' worship trends that had been judged guilty of rendering the church impotent in the eyes of the "change agents." These challenges to man-made tradition have even been healthy in some cases They, have caused us to examine what we believe and why we believe it.

Yet, at the underbelly of this movement slithers the tactic of changing the church by pitting generation against generation.

It is necessary to examine ourselves and test the'" spirits! Man-made tradition is worthless. 'God-breathed commandments are essential. Yet, last week, I watched in sadness as some of my brethren began attacking the authority of God. They told the world, through the news media at "Jubilee," that baptism is not necessary for salvation. Some claim this was just the newest phase of a predetermined plan to destroy the church. Others claim it was a slip of the tongue. Whatever the case, this statement about baptism is still false.

It saddens me that these brethren have preached "unity" and "tolerance" yet would make this outlandish statement. Can we be unified with one another without being unified with Christ? And how are we unified with Christ? Should we tolerate one another and not tolerate God's commandments and the lordship of Jesus?

I must admit that the concept of meetings such as Jubilee is a good one. But we had better listen carefully to what is spoken because a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Not everyone who speaks at Jubilee believes this heresy. But the termites who do have caused a great deal of damage. Now comes the most painful part: identifying the pests and rebuilding the damage.