Removing Life-Devouring Amoebas

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Friendships, False Prophets, and Temptations

 

We are directed by God to love one another: 
1 John 4:8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 
John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

We are also directed by God to be cautious in our choices of friendship and companionship:

Proverbs 22:24-25 Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.
1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” Proverbs 13:20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. 2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

There are many times when your knowledge of what is right may feel conflicting with your knowledge of God's commands. The commands to love one another often dominate my decisions on friendship and company.  I remember one sermon, when the pastor was guiding us through a message about being certain to not be "unequally yoked with unbelievers..." I became angry during his message, because I felt as if other parts of scripture, and people were being denied by this message. How could we live a life commanded by God, where we were expected to, "...love one another." if I am directed to only choose friends and companions that are equally yoked? Fortunately, the Holy Spirit was at work in me during this message, and allowed my anger to subside enough for my ears to hear the end of the message. God does want us to love one another, but, "Bad company ruins good morals."  When I heard these words again, I had many memories of choices and decisions made, where these words rang true.  My years of inconsistent church attendance, and the choices that accompanied those years replayed in my mind like an old-school slide show. My many friends who made poor decisions that often reflected laziness, and made statements highly conflicting with scripture came to my forefront.  Had I impacted them in a positive light, as strongly as they had impacted me? Or, had I moved further from the Word and the truth so as not to make these individuals uncomfortable, and to avoid debate or ridicule? 
It is time for a science connection to help tie up my loose ends of thought!  Recent discoveries with the Entamoeba histolytic amoeba have shown how

Entamoeba histolytic
exactly this amoeba does damage to our body, and the results are quite disturbing. These microbes enter our body, and then begin ingesting our cells. Yes, they eat our cells. One bite at a time. Until the cell is dead.  Then, (here is the truly disturbing part) they leave the remains of the dead cell behind, and move on to continue ingesting other live cells.  In case you did not make this connection, that means they are not eating the cells solely for nourishment. If that were the case, they would ingest the cells in their entirety. Instead, they are eating the cells for the purpose of death.  Around 50 million people are exposed to this amoeba each year, and about 100,000 die from the cell-eating microbe. So what's the good news in this ever-cheery science connection? Our body, in its miraculous creation, is capable of defeating this microbe.  If a cell is exposed to a couple bites, but then is able to escape the amoeba's jaws (which is funny because amoebas do not really have jaws), scientists discovered that the cell is capable of healing itself! This discovery has led them toward new testing methods for defeating this microbe. 


This is a live video of the amoeba
eating the human cell!
Now back to the Bible. How does this in any way relate to friendships and following God's commands? First you must understand that most people contract this disease in developing countries where water is scarce.  Therefore, water in any form is a good, life-saving entity.  However, much of this water is a false "good" because it contains many microbes, including our point of discussion, as well as many other forms of bacteria.  Sometimes our body can fight this off, with small side effects of diarrhea and dehydration.  They are uncomfortable side effects, but not bad enough to defeat you. Therefore, you will go back to this "friend" of water, and give it another chance with the same actions that made you sick the first time.  Eventually, if your methods, and the true nature of the water do not change, you will be defeated.  Unfortunately, my friends and students whom I love, this is true about friendships in our life.  Negativity is contagious, as are actions and beliefs. Think of the Israelites in the wilderness.  God always provided enough for them, even when it seemed impossible.  But, as soon as one bad cell began speaking negativity against God, and all he had provided, this negativity and doubt spread like wild fire.  You can also think of the week of Easter: beginning with everyone praising Jesus, and ending with the shouting for his crucifixion.  Bad cells are strong and powerful, and if our good cells are not strong enough to fight them off, we can be overtaken.  We are called to love one another, and we are commanded to share the truth of God with unbelievers.  However, we are also commanded to stay strong in our faith.  In order to stay strong in our faith, we need supports.  God has given us the body through his Word and Holy Spirit. But the world is full of sin, and this microbe will enter in.  We need it to stop taking bites out of our cells before it destroys our inner defenses.  We need to increase our white blood cell count of defenses through increasing our knowledge of scripture, and surrounding ourselves by others who know, love and defend our God and His Word. Yes, you are called to love one another. Yes, you are called to share the truth with those who do not know it. But you must enter this battle strong.  Your cells need time to heal, so your young seeds of faith are not destroyed.  

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 
Here is the cool part: Even if your cells have been attacked, you can heal. You have many cells of faith, and you have been given many means of defense. You will need to stay observant of your own life to notice when these microbes have entered.  (Many people who have contracted our amoeba friend have no idea he is even there feasting upon their cells!) You need to stay true to yourself, and to your God. The medicine for this is simple. Surround yourself with love, forgiveness, grace, and the peace that comes with worship and devotion.  Our Lord has not left us to fight these battles of doubt, confusion, and ridicule alone.  If you feel that your values and morals are swaying; therefore, swaying who you are in your faith, it is time to discover from where the microbes came.  Be proud of who you are, keep yourself strong, and allow the Holy Spirit to work through you. 

If you would like to learn more about Entamoeba histolytic go here.

If you would like to see a further connection of this amoeba to Biblical truth, go here.