THOSE DEVILISH FIRE ANTS

Son of the north that I am, I never encountered fire ants until the Army sent me to South Georgia as a young man. One morning during physical training I unknowingly sat down alongside a nest. The first stings on my calves were a new experience for me, so I did not know what was coming next—a stinging swarm up my legs and into my torso that seemed to ignite on cue. Suddenly, I was on fire everywhere and pulling off my shorts and shirt so that I could flail the ants off my body. But by then it was too late. Toxic little bites covered me from my chest to my toes.

After that, even though I was careful where I sat, I sometimes could not see their nests in the dark and got too close. But from my first experience, I knew that after that warning sting I would have only a few seconds to act before they swarmed. I had to yank off my shoes and socks and beat those buggers off my calves before they gained a foothold on my torso or I would be in for a body of pain.

The other day I was pulling my shovel flag out of the ground at an F3 Workout when I felt one of those old warning stings on my left ankle. Even though it has been many years since my last fire ant experience, I had not forgotten what that meant. I dropped down on the sidewalk, yanked off my shoe and sock and beat the ants off my calf before they got any farther. Keeping them from gaining a foothold was an instinctive response ingrained by pain that I had not forgotten.

The best way to avoid fire ants is to know where they like to nest and avoid those places. But sometimes they surprise you, and when that happens you must react quickly when you feel those first warning stings or you will be in for a body of pain.

The same is true for me with impure and evil thoughts. The best way for me to avoid them is to know where they lurk and avoid those places. But sometimes they surprise me. Like with fire ants, there is nothing I can do about that because I do not have control over the ugly thoughts that will occasionally pop into my head. Whether it be envy, pride, lust, greed, or any of the other mental fire ants that seek to gain a foothold in my heart, I must act quickly when I feel that first sting. Although I cannot control every thought, I do have dominion over whether they descend into my heart as ugly feelings that will give birth to dangerous emotions.

So I avoid evil where it nests, remain alert for the first sting and take rapid action to keep it from gaining a foothold in my heart. Otherwise, I have learned the hard way, I will be in for a body of pain.