You may recall from your school days that the Black Plague in Europe, which killed around 100 million people, has historically been blamed on disease-infected fleas carried by rats. However, a new study suggests that the rats may have been falsely accused. It turns out that outbreaks of the plague did not follow periods when the weather favored rats. Instead, outbreaks typically occurred when climate conditions were favorable for gerbils. That’s right—the cute little gerbil, not the ugly black rat, might be to blame for spreading the deadly disease. In life, sometimes it is easy to blame the rats and trust the gerbils. That is, it’s easy to assume that people we consider attractive and likeable have good ideas, while people we consider unattractive or whom we don’t get along with well must have the wrong ideas. However, scripture warns us that sometimes the very messengers of Satan disguise themselves as “angels of light.” It’s vital that we evaluate every message on the basis, “Does this line up with the word of God?” and, “Is this honoring to Jesus Christ?” If not, don’t buy into their message, even if it’s a cute, fluffy, innocent-looking gerbil.
– Ken Roach