“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16). The serpent is a common symbol of the adversary. The dove is a common symbol of the Holy Ghost. To be as wise as a serpent is to understand and be wary of and watch for the influence of the adversary in our lives. If we, like the proverbial monkeys, are covering our eyes, ears, and mouths so that we may see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil in an attempt to shut out the serpent from our lives, our willful pretending does not banish the serpent but just makes it more likely that we are to be bitten since we are not wise to his tricks and can’t see or hear him coming or shout warning to others. To be as wise as serpents is to recognize our own natural inclination for malevolence and evil and prideful animosity towards God and all of His creations, and not to run from it or excise it or repress it but to integrate it. In Matthew 5:5 - “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” - the Greek word that in English is translated as “meek” is praus, which is not exactly the same as meek or gentle. It implies not a cringing weakness or servile passivity but rather a strength that has been channeled and is under control, like a powerful warhorse that obeys the will of its master. We can integrate all of the cunning wisdom of the serpent by yielding to the influence of the Holy Ghost and becoming harmless as doves. Being as wise as the serpent means that we will not foolishly stumble into sin through blind naivete, and yielding to the influence of the Holy Ghost means that we will become truly as harmless as the dove, because the Lord through His Holy Spirit will not lead us into harm. That’s not to say that we will not suffer pain and loss and anguish as we follow the promptings of the Spirit, but such adversity is ultimately for our good and as real and undeniable as the pain is at present, the reality of its ultimate harmlessness and benevolence will be just as strongly felt when all of the mysteries of God’s Plan for us are unfolded to our understanding. As we keep our eyes and our ears open to the influence of both the serpent and the dove and speak truthfully of the real power of good and evil in our lives, then we will be able to follow the Good Shepherd through the wolves all around us.
