Driving Out Your Snakes This St. Patrick’s Day

By Al Perrotta Published on March 16, 2017

“I hate snakes.” (Famed archaeologist and professor Henry “Indiana” Jones, Jr.)

The other day I wrote an article decrying what I call “Snake News,” false or misleading news reports that aim to deceive, distract and destroy. I took the name from the first practitioner of such information, the Serpent in the Garden of Eden. 

Snakes remain on my brain as we set to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. As legend has it, the reason there are no snakes in Ireland is because St. Patrick drove them all into the sea, after they dared attack him during a 40-day fast atop a hill. True? Likely not, as Nigel Monaghan, keeper of natural history at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin told National Geographic in 2014. There’s no evidence of snakes having ever been in Ireland. 

Or at least not the slithering kind loathed by Indiana Jones. Whether residing in the Emerald Isle or simply donning green and singing  “The Unicorn Song,” we all have to contend with spiritual snakes: the assaults of the Enemy that aim to deceive, distract and destroy. They could come from our own head or the harsh words of others. They could be giant, crushing cobra-sized snakes like sickness and despair, or small, seemingly harmless snakes, like social media compulsions or lingering too long on the gorgeous waitress bringing you a St. Paddy’s Guinness.

Unlike in the St. Patrick’s legend, these snakes are very real. But like St. Patrick, we do have a power to drive those snakes into the sea.

Driving Away the Snakes 

Jesus Christ Himself was tempted during his own 40-day fast. The same serpent that made short work of Eve and Adam in the Garden slithered along side the New Adam in the desert. In Matthew’s account, he tried to bite Jesus four times. And four times, Jesus swatted him down with the word of God.  The devil slunk away.

Jesus didn’t only have Scripture on his lips. He entered the desert directly after having the Holy Spirit descend upon Him at the Jordan River. Jesus had the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. Those are far more effective snake killers than any shovel or mongoose.

We, too, have the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. And as God promised in Genesis 3:15, we will crush the serpent’s head. 

Sometimes They Still Bite Us

Sometimes our attempts to ward off snakes are unsuccessful. Sometimes they still manage to sink their teeth in. But the news is still good. 

In Acts, we read of Paul getting bit on the hand by a poisonous snake while putting brushwood on a fire. “When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, ‘This man must be a murderer … justice has not allowed him to live.’ But Paul shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.” (Acts 28:3-5)

Luke isn’t just sharing a segment for a Discovery channel survival show. He’s got bigger fish to fry on that fire. The natives assumed Paul’s guilt, that he would get what was coming to him. Aren’t our foes similar? Instead Paul flings the snake into the burning brush. He gives the poisonous situation over to the Holy Spirit. And he was unharmed. 

Should we be surprised? Was Paul luckier than a field of four-leaf clovers? No. Jesus promised as much after His Resurrection. As He gave the Great Commission to “go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation,” He said these signs will accompany those who believe: “By using my name they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues, they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick and they will recover.”  (Mark 16:14-18)

Stomping the Snakes of Others

We are able to cast demons out of others. We are able to lay hands on others. The implication of the Lord’s words is clear: We are also able to pick up the snakes … of others! We’ve spent a lot of time talking about defeating the snakes that come after us. What a blessing to discover that those of us who believe are given the authority to crush and cast away the snakes that plague those around us. 

This promise of Jesus should make us giddier than the most festive Irish jig.

 

Prayer: On this St. Patrick’s Day, thank you, Lord, for the opportunity and ability through your Word and your Holy Spirit to rid my circle of influence of the snakes that aim to deceive, distract and destroy. Whether driven into the sea or devoured by fire, let those spiritual snakes never again threaten me or those whose paths I cross. We ask also for safe travels and celebrations for those enjoying the St. Patrick’s Day holiday. In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen. 

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