A Better Way

In his book, Everybody’s Normal Until You Get to Know Them, Pastor John Ortberg writes about porcupines He makes the point that porcupines have around 30,000 quills attached to their bodies. Each quill can be driven into an enemy, and the enemy’s body heat will cause the microscopic barb to expand and become more firmly embedded. The wounds can fester. The more dangerous wounds, affecting vital organs, can be fatal.

“The porcupine is not generally regarded as a lovable animal,” Ortberg continues. “As a general rule, porcupines have two methods for handling relationships: withdrawal and attack. They either head for a tree or stick out their quills. They are generally solitary animals.”

People can be a little like porcupines, can’t we? Even in the closest of relationships, we can find ourselves in the mode of withdrawal or attack. And we can hurt one another.

In his letter to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul offers us a better way. He writes:

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus…”

Paul’s advice can be difficult to remember day in day out. And, even harder to live out. But imagine how our relationships would flourish if we were able to follow it even a little more often.

Let us pray: Gracious God, help us to shed our quills, and to act less like the porcupine. Instead, may we grow more and more into the image of your Son in whose name we pray. Amen.