The snake and the Ford Starliner

 

When I was a kid, I used to collect snakes. I was so interested in them that I actually had plans to one day become a herpetologist (someone who studies amphibians and reptiles).

I don’t know why I was so fascinated with them, because they are not affectionate creatures.

For instance, you always know where you stand with a dog. If he’s happy, his mouth is open in what sometimes looks like a smile with his tongue hanging out, along with a wagging tail. If a dog is angry or afraid, you know that too.

Even a cat will show some interest in you occasionally. But a snake, you never know that they are thinking.

The snake who always bit me

I had quite a few snakes over the years, some I had caught and some I had bought.

Over time, I had king snakes, gopher snakes, garter snakes, boas, and one weird little python that had it out for me. In fact, whenever I put my hand in his cage, he would strike and bite me.

Snakes are clever and sly

Though they are not affectionate creatures, snakes are very clever. Fact is, snakes can get out of the tightest places.

One time, I asked my mom to drive me over to a Newport Beach pet store so I could buy a new snake. We got in her Ford Starliner and made the trip.

The Ford Starliner was one of those overblown Detroit ’60s models that I did not appreciate at the time so much, but now look back on as a true classic.

We arrived at the pet store and purchased the snake. I loaded him up in my terrarium, placed it in the trunk, and we drove back home.

Upon arriving at home, we discovered to our surprise that the snake had escaped. My mom vowed to never drive that car again, because she knew that snake was somewhere in that car, and would find and bite her.

How to get a free car

A couple of weeks later, my mom needed to run an errand, so she carefully got into the Starliner and make her way down the road. All she could think about was that snake in there.

She came to a light and was waiting for it to turn green, when she suddenly felt a cold coil drop on her ankle. Her worst nightmare had just come true.

So she carefully opened the door, put her other foot on the ground, and leaped out, screaming, “There’s a snake in my car!”

At the intersection, there happened to be a police officer, who came running over to find out what was wrong. He looked up where the snake allegedly was, and found that it was actually just a loose hose.

But my mom never drove that car again, and eventually she just gave it to me!

The devil is compared to a snake

You remember in the Garden of Eden, the devil came to Eve as a serpent or snake.

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field
which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1)

Of course, Eve’s first mistake was listening to what the devil had to say in the first place. Like a snake, the devil is always looking for an opening.

The objective is to have as little to do with him as possible. The Bible does not say, “Have extended conversations with the devil and he will flee from you.” Rather, it says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4.7).

More on how our enemy is like a snake tomorrow.