TRAP!

That’s the first time I’ve seen one. A carnivorous plant! A plant that eats flesh—well, not animals, but insects and such (but, on rare occasion, even small frogs). Nepenthes rafflesiana. One of the many species of pitcher plants. One of the many bizarre pieces of flora found on this earth. This specimen was in Penang, Malaysia.

The trap essentially is a pitcher-like cavity filled with a liquid that contains enzymes—technically called a “pitfall” trap. Appropriately named! No doubt, a pitfall literally and figuratively for some tiny denizens of this planet that happen to fall into the pit.

I wonder if David, the Psalmist, had seen this species of flesh-eating plant. He often wrote of pitfalls:

For without cause
they hid their net for me;
without cause
they dug a pit for my soul.
Psalm 35:7

Anyhow, the aforementioned vegetable life successfully drowns its prey in the watery pit and proceeds to dissolve it. Some of these pitcher plants are known to contain kinds of insect larvae and sometimes even ants on the rim of the pitcher, as well, all of which cooperate to break down (and feast upon) the unwitting victim. The trapped fauna meets its demise rapidly and is converted into amino acids, peptides, etc., etc., with which the wolfish plant energizes its nefarious enterprises.

The unwary invertebrate is bribed into the lethal trap by the odor of nectar and other seductive accoutrements of the plant like red pigment. Once inside, a flaky wax on the grooved interior surface of the pitcher prevents the insect from climbing out.

Tempted, lured, decoyed, seduced, baited, snared! Trapped!

Good lesson for all of us Christ-followers. We, too, are easily dissolved by pitfalls, for many …

… fall into temptation and a snare
and many foolish and harmful desires
which plunge people into ruin and destruction.
1 Timothy 6:9

Jesus, Himself, taught His disciples to pray that they would not fall into temptation.

“Keep watching and praying that
you may not enter into temptation;
the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Matthew 26:41

Weak indeed! Distracted and disturbed, we are easily dislodged into the pitfalls conveniently provided for us by our own sinfulness:

… each one is tempted
when he is carried away
and enticed by his own lust.
James 1:14

Unseen pitfalls the world lays in our paths:

… but the worries of the world,
and the deceitfulness of riches,
and the desires for other things
enter in and choke the word,
and it becomes unfruitful.
Mark 4:19

Other pitfalls are designed to dissolve us into someone’s lunch:

Your adversary, the devil,
prowls around like a roaring lion,
seeking someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8

And so, Peter warns:

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.
1 Peter 5:8

That’s our responsibility.

But we are reminded of God’s sovereign grace to us as well, even in (and especially in?) times of temptation. His aid is assured!

No temptation has overtaken you
but such as is common to man;
and God is faithful,
who will not allow you to be tempted
beyond what you are able,
but … will provide the way of escape also,
so that you will be able to endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13

For sure, it is He who rescues us from the clutches of evil and the pitfalls of life.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless His holy name.
… and forget none of His benefits;
who redeems your life from the pit ….
Psalm 103:1–2, 4

Don’t fall in!