When The Ants Coming Marching In....


Would Jesus kill an ant? It is a serious question.

We know Spring is around the corner when ants begin to appear en masse in the Bierker household. No prognosticator shadow seeing groundhog needed. Now, groundhogs in the garden, I have no problem exterminating. But ants? Those little hard working creatures? It is not like they are fire ants attacking me or my wife. Or a wasp. Or even a fly buzzing around my head...all of which I can justify taking out. These ants are just trying to get by, and are feeding off of stuff that we have left behind.

Yesterday, no fooling, Lina left a plate on our kitchen elevated table for two that was coated with grease, sprinkled with bagel crumbs and eggs, and flecks of cheese. Could feed a Patton-sized Army of Ants. We headed off in a hurry to church. I was out in the car getting my GPS working so I saw not her egregious error. Nary an ant when we returned several hours later. Me, in making the bagel egg and cheese sandwich, dropped a small piece of the creation in the corner of the sink, and it was an ant convention. A writhing ant orgy of food. Once again, Lina skates and I crash. Not sure why.

Lina also gets much more worked up about the ants in general. I have a "live and live" perspective, until the ants do what they did yesterday by swarming. I have an upper limit of tolerance. Yet, a group of ants on patrol for food, doing what God created them to do, I feel queasy about killing them. It feels like speciesism. How would I like it if a much larger creature than me crushed my cranium just because I was looking for some grub with my homeys? They ain't hurting me. 

So, I ask again, would Jesus kill an ant?          

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