Poison ivy and poisoned hearts

If there is such a thing as the botanical spawn of Satan, poison ivy must surely be it. In Genesis 3:17-18, after the fall of man, God cursed the ground, and spoke of the malevolent change to plant life that would result from it. I cannot help but wonder if part of that curse was God turning to Satan and saying, “Invent a plant and make it as evil as you like.” That seems to be the only logical reason for the existence of a plant with all the pleasant sweetness of a constipated porcupine.

As you may suspect, I write this column having just experienced the ravages of said noxious weed. Please try not to get an itchy feeling as you hold this paper; I am fairly certain that it cannot be transmitted via email, which is how I send my columns in.

I am currently on the down side of the attack. It was a full week that I suffered, after spending a long hot Saturday clearing brush from a steep bank at the church. It only took 24 hours for the damage to begin making itself known; and soon I was scratching and questioning my will to live and scratching and praying and scratching and repenting of my sin and your sin and scratching.

This episode was bad enough that I am going to have some scars on my arms. But my dear and wise wife reminded me of something that I share with you now. Scars are a sign that you have survived and still live to tell about it.

Poison ivy and poison hearts; both produce scars.

Charlottesville. Chelsea Handler calling for a military coup against the President. Madonna speaking of wanting to blow up the White House. Many during the time of the Obama administration using vile racial slurs against him and his family. The KKK. Antifa. Some people in the BLM movement calling for the death of police. Dylan Roof. The New Black Panther Party. Poison. In the midst of my scratching and clawing, a lovely and soothing voice of wisdom (my wife, once again) reminded me of an amazing substance called calamine lotion. When applied to the infected area, it works to dry out the oily poison. It does not happen immediately, but with regular and repeated applications the effect is wonderful.

In the bottle sitting right by my side as I write this, I see that there are fourteen ingredients that make up calamine lotion. One thing by itself does not do the job, but the right combination of ingredients does.

Here is my proposed recipe for societal calamine lotion, something that may help to dry up the oily poison of racial hatred. One: remember that we all came from one common ancestor, Adam. We are therefore all family. Two: remember that God himself created the DNA that gave our species the vast array of races we have, the tapestry of humanity. Three: look to the cross, and realize that Christ died for all. Four: remember that there is no white gospel or brown gospel or black gospel, there is just THE gospel. Five: learn to bypass cameras and social media and speak cordially, one on one, with people you oppose. Preferably over a cup of coffee or a glass of iced tea. Six: put the people you dislike the most at the very top of your prayer list. It is funny how that turns “dislike” into “actually care about.” Seven: call out people of your own race for their bigotry and hatred just as firmly as you want people of other races to call out those of their race for bigotry and hatred. If all sides and races will consistently do this, people will develop credibility with each other. Eight: remember that Blue is not a race, it is a color that people of all races wear, and they always sacrifice greatly to do so. Nine: every time the devil stirs up racial hatred, use that as an excuse to do something nice for people of other races. Kill hatred with kindness. Ten: memorize the words of Revelation 7:9-10, which show what worship is going to be like in heaven, and quote those words everywhere you go:

“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”

Our society has some scars. Let’s make sure they become a sign that we have survived and still live to tell about it.

Bo Wagner is pastor of the Cornerstone Baptist Church in Mooresboro, N.C., a widely traveled evangelist, and author of several books, including a kid’s fiction book about the Battle of Chickamauga, “Broken Brotherhood.” He can be emailed at 2knowhim@cbc-web.org.