There was a scorpion who was trying to cross a river, but it could not swim. The scorpion stood
there for hours looking for a bridge, a
tree branch or anything that it could use to cross the river. But it
couldn't find anything at all. Then it
saw a turtle nearby and the scorpion
approached the turtle.
When the turtle saw the scorpion coming with that tail
raised and prepared stings, the turtle retreated and hide its neck.
The scorpion said, "Do
not be afraid, Mrs. Turtle. I just like to have a little talk with you. Can I see your face so we could talk?" The turtle replied: "No way! You are a treacherous creature. If I put my
neck out, you will apply your stinger on
me. And your venom is strong enough to
kill an elephant."
And the scorpion
replied: "No, Mrs. Turtle; don't get me wrong. I know that I have a bad reputation, but I
need a big favor. I have to cross this river, but I cannot swim and I know that you swim
very well. So if you could do to me this kindness, I would ride on top of your
shell, you would cross the river and leave me on the other side. No big deal."
The turtle, which has hundreds of years of life and is not
silly, said: "Scorpion, do you think I was born yesterday? I'm sure if I put my head out, or if I do
this favor to you, you will apply your
sting killing me in seconds." The scorpion
said: "Come on! What idea you are
doing of me! I only need a favor. If I
apply the sting, I will be applying this stinger against myself as well. Because if you die, I will die too. If you
drown in the river, I also drown because
I cannot swim. So trust me, Mrs. Turtle. I just need this
favor. Take me on the other side, please.
I will owe to you for this favor for the rest of life. Whatever you need me, You can count on me. Just make this kind act."
The turtle was thinking
over and over, " It is not logical. If he applied the sting on me,
I will die and he dies too because he cannot
swim. I think it costs nothing to do this
favor." The turtle put her head out of its shell and said: " Okay,
Mr. Scorpion. Go up there on my back."
And the scorpion, with its tail raised and with that scary stinger, was
coming up on the turtle's back and went to the top of its shell.
Slowly, the turtle was walking down the riverbank and the scorpion
was on top of it, "Thank you , Mrs. Turtle. Thank you for the favor that
you are doing to me." And the
turtle replied: "You're welcome."
they were going down until they found water and began to swim with the Scorpion
on its shell. The turtle swam and swam to reach the other shore of the river.
But the Scorpion began to look to the turtle neck and
wondered , " I'm so in desire to give a sting. I'm not able to control my
tail." And the innocent turtle were swimming , over and over; believing that it was a favor to the scorpion.
The scorpion then thought: "Just a little more and we
will arrive on the river bank. I need to give a sting. I just need to be patient and make sure I will be safe."
Later they arrived on the river bank and suddenly, the turtle
gives a painful cry: "Oh, what's that? You stung me and your poison now is inside of
me! Why did you do that, Scorpion? I
helped you, I did a favor to you and now
I 'm going to die!" The scorpion said:
"Sorry, Mrs. Turtle, But this is my
nature. That's all I can do."
This story show us how a bad companionship can lead a person
into trouble. Although the turtle was a hundred years old and "full of
experiences" she was not vigilant enough. On the same way, years of church
won't protect anyone if we aren't watchful and prayerful.
The scorpion represents the devil with his smooth words of
temptations, but it represents also a treacherous "friend". Just like
the scorpion, there are people that just want favors from others and as soon as
they get what they want, they may stab (sting) those who aren't useful anymore. They just know how to get, but no reciprocity whatsoever.
King David knew what was to be betrayed by a friend that
would even WORSHIP God with him:
Psalm 55:12-14 (NIV)
If an enemy were
insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I
could hide from him. But it is you, a man like
myself, my companion, my close friend, we had intimate talks with each other
and worshiped together in the Temple.
Betrayal is without a doubt very painful and the Bible
says:
The LORD is close to
the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18 (NIV)
Be a blessing.
