As Wise As A Serpent, As Harmless As A Dove

Okay, I am afraid I got the scripture backwards today when two teen females attempted to snap a photo of me in a shopping mall. I became as wise as a dove and as harmless as a serpent. I was accosted by two girls who thought it an important part of their life experience to participate in the fad of planking. 

As I was sitting on a bench in the food court, enjoying some tabbouleh and rice, the young lady came and lay beside me with her head not 10 inches from my waist. It took my brain a few seconds to grasp the strange event. When I saw her accomplice snapping the photo, I immediately jumped up from the table and got away from the planker. I proceeded, in no uncertain terms, to inform these two immature, subculture, fad-driven, Internet influenced, teens, that what they were doing could destroy a person's reputation and good standing. As they tried to leave, I demanded that they stay. I called a mall security guard to come and assure that they had erased the photo, which they described as "an Internet thing." The young ladies' greatest concern was that they might be banned from the mall, not that they had caused a stranger harm, and in her defiance and rebellion, the planking girl exclaimed, "you are not my father." Of that there was no doubt.

I heard the story years ago of the evangelist, Billy Graham, arriving at his hotel room to find a woman in it. Sensing the set-up that it was, he immediately bolted out of the room and ran down the hall. I always appreciated the wisdom of that reaction. Sometimes fleeing the very appearance of evil requires a quick sprint.