For The Birds: Eating at the table of the enemy

A conversation with my husband, before Christmas…

“I’d like a birdfeeder for Christmas.”

Confused, I answered, “You have one.”

“Where?”

Pointing out the deck door, I replied, “Right there, by the evergreen tree.”

Calmly he explained, “Honey, that’s a birdhouse.”

Oh. As it turns out, I didn’t know the difference between a birdfeeder and a birdhouse. With my mastery of the English language and a moment of consideration, I was able to deduce the difference. A birdhouse is where a bird lives; a birdfeeder is where it gets fed.

Since we have a birdhouse we have plenty of blue jays flying around the back of our house. (Or, are they bluebirds? I always get those two confused, which my daughter finds amusing.) We also feed our cats on the back deck. The blue jays are constantly swooping in to snatch a piece or two of cat food so I agreed that a birdfeeder would be a good addition to the back deck.

While he was at work one day I took our daughters and headed to Lowe’s. The younger two picked out a cute little house, the older two bought a bag of food especially for blue jays and cardinals, and I picked out a stand to hang it all on. We wrapped it, he opened it, and all was well. The day after Christmas he mounted the stand on the deck railing, filled the house with birdseed, and hung it on its hook.

In the sixteen days since Christmas, we haven’t seen a single bird use that feeder.

Notice the delapidated birdhouse below the feeder. How pitiful.

I’ve thought about that birdfeeder and those birds, and I’m thinking people are a lot like those birds.

Just like the birds swooping down into the cat food pan, many of us would rather dive into the realm of the enemy to be spiritually fed, despite the dangers and the fact that we’re being fed the wrong food. The cat food might temporarily satisfy the birds, but they weren’t created for cat food and the cat food wasn’t created for them. Likewise, many of us are temporarily satisfying ourselves with things the enemy offers instead of with the truth of God for which we were created.

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:15-17).

Just as the birds were given the birdfeeder so they can be fed food appropriate for them during the cold winter months, people have been given a place where they can go to be fed appropriately. Granted some churches do not feed people the truth of Scripture, but many do. Hopefully you have a church home where you can hear truth spoken and where grace and mercy abound. I know I do, and I’m thankful for that.

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).

I’m going to keep watching for the blue jays and cardinals to come eat the food. I’ll keep you posted as to what happens.

Later Update: Click here to read the next part on the birdfeeder saga.