Invasive Species - Pt 2

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:20-23 ESV). I want to draw on one more example of the destructive result of man’s failure to follow the plan of God. In Florida, there are many animals (including reptiles) that have been released into the wild and now taken over the ecosystem. The Burmese Python is one of those. AS you can see from the photo, they can grow to enormous lengths. In the Everglades, large numbers of pythons prey on endangered birds and their eggs, along with frogs and native snakes. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission encourages the public to remove or report wild pythons when they're spotted for removal. Pythons invaded Florida when snakes that were kept as pets were released or escaped and thrived in Florida's warm and predator-free conditions. The raccoons, marsh rabbits, opossums, and other small, warmblooded animals are gone, or almost gone, because Burmese pythons seem to have eaten them. The marsh’s weird outdoor quiet is the deep, endlessly patient, laser-focused quiet of these invasive predators. About two feet long when hatched, Burmese pythons can grow to 20 feet and 200 pounds; they are among the largest snakes in the world. The pythons are mostly ambush hunters, and constrictors. They kill smaller animals by biting them on or near the head and suffocating them as they are swallowed. Larger animals are seized wherever is convenient, and crushed and strangled in the coils before and during swallowing. Large constrictor snakes have not existed in North America for millions of years. Yet, because of man’s disregard for the consequences of their choices native wildlife species are suffering. The Apostle Paul reminds us that this is always the result of our sin, “For the end of those things are death” (v. 21). My thoughts range from our disregard for the will and purpose of God in both our individual lives and community lives. We should not ignore the result of our choices in either our life or the lives of others. No one “lives alone.” What we do affects others. Even in the smallest of things, a word unwisely spoken or an action untimely committed, we see the ripple effects of destruction in creation itself. The key is in thinking before we act and praying as we go.