Catch the foxes.
Before it's too late.
Years ago, my wife and I served as pre-marital counselors for our church. We volunteered to meet with couples who were considering marriage and walked them through a curriculum that helped them have tough conversations, navigate potential landmines, set the right expectations, but also prepare them for the gift and pleasure of marriage.
The curriculum had a peculiar name. It was a book called, "Catching Foxes.”
I always thought that was a funny name for a marriage book. I still think it is. But not funny in a silly way, funny in a clever way. Why? Because the title is based on a small verse in Song of Solomon that most have never read.
And I think that verse is relevant not just for pre-marrieds, but for all of us.
The verse goes like this: “Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.” (Song of Solomon 2:15, ESV)
Oh, the foxes. They are those pesky little things that steal from us. They spoil our lives. They’re sneaky, but they can do so much destruction. When it comes to marriages, there are a lot of sneaky foxes lurking around the corner ready to harm our relationships. But there are plenty of foxes in all of our lives, no matter if we are married or not.
I know from experience. The fox of escapism drove me to drink. A lot. It’s part of why I became an alcoholic. But I didn’t start by drinking a bottle of bourbon every night. No, a sneaky fox convinced me that 2-3 at night was fine so I could feel a little buzzed and forget the worries of the world. Until it wasn’t enough.
I don’t know what fox or foxes are in your life, but they’re there.
I was reminded of that concept today as I was reading Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening. It’s the theme for the morning of May 30. (Yeah, I read ahead.) Here’s what he says about the verse above:
A little thorn may cause much suffering. A little cloud may hide the sun. Little foxes spoil the vines; and little sins do mischief to the tender heart. These little sins burrow in the soul, and make it so full of that which is hateful to Christ, that he will hold no comfortable fellowship and communion with us.
Friend, it’s the little things. The “big” sins are easier to spot. The adultery, the affair, the murder, the robbery.
But no one wakes up one morning out of nowhere and says, “I think today I’m just going to cheat on my spouse.” That decision is made in the hundreds of smaller decisions leading up to it. It’s made in the stolen glance at the gym five years earlier that you were never vulnerable about. And that fox snuck in and stole some grapes. And then kept stealing grapes. Until one day you woke up and your vineyard was bare.
Catch the foxes. Now. Before it’s too late.
