Little Foxes

"Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom." Song of Solomon 2:15

Normally, we think of the Song of Solomon as a book in the Bible that is all about the marriage relationship. And it is, but it's also a picture of Christ and His bride, the Church. This verse teaches us about unity, not only in our marriages, but also in our church.

If you think about marriage, you know that it is a relationship that one must work on constantly-like a garden or a vineyard. Any relationship requires constant care, so what are we fighting in gardens? Weeds, insects, pests, disease. I understand from Aesop's Fables that foxes enjoy grapes. Remember the fox who couldn't get the grapes? He went away saying they were probably sour anyway. This tells me that foxes in the vineyard were not an uncommon occurrence. In fact, they are pests for the one who owns the vineyard.

Going back to our picture of marriage, the vineyard represents our marriages. The little foxes are our little problems we deal with each day. You know-the things that just bug you about your spouse. Like maybe the way they leave their clothes lying about or the way they put the toilet paper on the roll or the way they leave the lid off the toothpaste. These are little foxes that Satan uses to cause disunity in our marriages. The verse says to catch them. That implies we need to realize that these are little things we need to come up with a plan to deal with them. For instance, if the toothpaste is that big of a deal, then buy your spouse their own tube. If the toilet paper thing bothers you, it doesn't take that long to change it, does it? Why get all upset and preach about it? Just catch that little fox and deal with it without getting your blood pressure up. You get the picture. For the sake of your marriage, you must deal with these "little foxes" because they can ruin your "vineyard."

The book of Revelation in the Bible says much about the church being the bride of Christ. The Apostle Paul compares the church to a body and speaks a great deal on unity in the body, or the church. Remember, the Song of Solomon is a picture of Christ's relationship with the church. It is our responsibility as the church to eradicate the "little foxes" in our vineyard, or local church, so we can maintain a right relationship with Jesus, our Groom. What is our church's little foxes? Each church has its own. It may be the music. It may be location. It could be where you park, where you sit, what translation of the Bible to use, or what color to paint the walls. You see the potential for these little foxes to ruin the beautiful relationship of unity in our church and with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Is is worth it? I say no. Nothing is worth that. Let's catch these little foxes and deal with them. It may mean learning to like a new style of music. It may mean being glad our church is relocating to an area that's growing so we can reach even more people for Christ. It could mean parking farther away from the church building so new visitors can have a parking place close to the the building. Whatever the "problem", it all depends upon our attitude. If we change our attitude about these things and remember our target and get our focus off of "me" and "my needs," it becomes an act of love. This will chase those little foxes right out of our vineyard-those little foxes that Satan sends to ruin our fellowship with our Lover-Jesus Christ. How will you deal with your little foxes?