ARE YOU LIKE THE LEECH?

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The leech has two daughters. ‘Give! Give!’ they cry.

Proverbs 30:15a

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Are you familiar with the leech?

It’s a worm-like creature that feeds on the blood of anything warm-blooded it can attach itself too. Yes, it is a blood sucking worm.

Not exactly the most attractive thing one could be compared to, right?

If you get a leech on you, you can expect the following to happen. It will attach itself in two places, one at either end of the leech. Once attached, it begins to feed and will not detach until it is full at which time it drops off its victim.

What is full? Well, leeches can swell to five to ten times their original size once full with their host’s blood.

So why this discussion about leeches?

We only need to look at this single statement by Agur from Proverbs, Chapter 30, to find the answer:

The leech has two daughters. ‘Give! Give!’ they cry. (verse 15a)

You can probably get the point here. If a leech would have offspring, they would be born in want. After all, that is the life of the leech. Without blood, it would cease to survive and so it is in the business of taking from others for its own survival. It takes but it doesn’t give back.

So the question I believe God’s word poses to us today is this:

Are you like the leech?

In other words, are you a person who always seeks to get and never give?

There are plenty of people like this in our world. Their world revolves around themselves and they are always seeking to get whatever they can from others. They don’t stop until they get what they need and then they drop off like the leech, that is, until they need something again and then it’s right back to work finding someone to feed off of.

The Lord does not call on us to be leeches in life but rather to give something to others, whether it be our time, talent, or treasure. In Jesus, we find the perfect role model for this, a man who was willing to give up everything for everyone, even those who hated Him.

And what did Jesus ask for in return?

That we believe in Him and always seek to help others do likewise. That’s what life is truly to be about at its core. It’s about selfless living, a life predicated on giving and doing so, not out of obligation but rather love.

In the end, when we have the right perspective on life, we see that it’s not about ourselves but all about Jesus and extending His love and caring to others, something that no self-centered, leech-like person will ever be able to do.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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