Good morning. My paternal grandfather was an interesting fellow. He was quietly generous, and by quietly, I mean he wanted no one to know about it. We would joke that he was so careful to hide his good will because he didn’t want anyone to be confused and think he had gone “soft” in his old age. For the most part, Grandpa H. was considered a tough old bird. There were some things that he excelled at, but the one specialty he would talk about was trapping. I know, in today’s world trapping animals is largely considered inhumane, but in his era, trapping was an important part of the economic structure of a northern MN family. As I mentioned, he was very good at it. So good, that there are laws in the DNR manual that were written specifically because of him. I’d like to tell you about one of those now outlawed innovations: Grandpa’s talking mink bait.
When old Harley (that is what the rest of the world called him) would teach us about trapping he would say that it all starts by knowing everything you could know about the animal you are targeting. The mink lives by water and spends nights patrolling the shoreline. Mink are very alert and trap shy. Any sight or smell that is the least bit “off” and they will avoid the area. But they do have a few weaknesses. They are greedy, always looking for an easy meal. They are curious, and as long as their warning system isn’t alerted, they need to check out anything new or different. Grandpa H. figured out a way to exploit those weaknesses: the talking mink bait.
There is a kind of minnow that can live in shallow, poorly oxygenated water, called a stickleback. They can do this because when the oxygen in the water runs too low, they are able to suck at the water surface and pull the needed oxygen from the air. When they do so, their sipping at the surface makes a slurping sound. Grandpa H. figured out that by digging a narrow hole back from the water’s edge, just far enough so that when you go down a little over a foot, water would seep in. He would put a dozen stickleback minnows in the hole with an inch of water at the bottom and in no time, they would use up the oxygen and start making noise slurping at the surface of the water. The trap would be set just above the water. The mink would come by and immediately have their natural curiosity take over, that and their greedy hopes for an easy meal. They would quickly locate the small hole, dive in to satisfy their curiosity and their hunger, and yep, Grandpa would catch another mink. The method was so effective the DNR outlawed it.
The same pattern and principles are in use to trap us. The enemy knows us, exploits our weaknesses, and traps us.
He hungers, and we are his prey: Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8
He works to know us inside and out: “Simon, Simon, be alert! Satan has demanded to sift all of you as he would wheat.” The words of Jesus in Luke 22:31
He sets clever traps, convincing us that wrong is right. When Jesus revealed the truth of His coming sacrifice we read: Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Mt 16:22-23
Think about the weaknesses present in your life. Consider how the enemy has been exploiting them. Pray for strength, wisdom, and power to resist him and win the victory.
Vern