We all know what it is to “pretend.” This goes on with many wild creatures of the world every day -usually when they are frightened and hope to scare a threatening enemy away.
The hognose snake is one of these, sometimes called a puff adder. It may play dead when frightened, just like an opossum does. At other times it inhales more and more air into itself, until its body is about twice as big around as usual. Either of these tricks usually works and causes an enemy to give up the idea of attacking it.
The coral snake has combinations of white, yellow, black and red bands around it. It is very poisonous, but there are other snakes that look like the coral snake but are not poisonous. If one of these is threatened by an animal or another snake, it puts on a show and acts just like the coral snake, to frighten its enemy away.
A five-inch long caterpillar, called hickory horned devil, has been provided with vicious-looking but soft horns on the top of its head. It also has bulges around its mouth that look like big sharp teeth. When frightened it raises the front of its body straight up and moves its head around, as though it will either take a bite out of whatever threatens it or stab it with its fierce-looking horns. The bird or small animal that was hoping for a good meal “escapes” as quickly as possible.
You have perhaps heard of another very odd desert dweller, the frilled lizard of Australia and New Guinea. It has been provided with four sturdy legs and a large fold of loose skin that normally lies flat against its body like a collar. But when threatened this lizard immediately rises on its strong legs and puffs out its huge collar which makes it look more than twice its usual size. When its mouth is wide open and a row of sharp little teeth are showing, while it makes very fearsome sounds, its attacker usually changes its mind and makes a quick getaway.
If space permitted we could explore many more interesting examples of the provision of the Creator for defenseless animals, fish and birds.
Sad to say, there are some people who are also pretenders and claim to be wiser than God. Some teach that there is no God, or that the Bible is not true, or that we will get to heaven just by “being good.” Many of them teach that the world and all in it were not created by God, but just “happened to come about.”
Turn away from such evil teachings and do as David the Psalmist did when people told him false things. He said, “I esteem all [God’s] precepts [teachings] concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.” Psalm 119:128128Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way. (Psalm 119:128).
ML-09/06/1992