Tasmanian devil

The Tasmanian devil has earned a reputation for being smelly, loud and nasty. The marsupial has long been reviled in its native country of Australia. Recently, however, Australians are rallying around the Tasmanian devil because its existence is being threatened by a terrible disease. Once thought to be a virus, it has now been determined that what is killing the Tasmanian devil at an alarming rate is actually a highly infectious cancer—one of only three communicable cancers known to medicine. The disease is spread through facial bites when the devils fight one another.

In nearly twenty years in the preaching ministry, I have had to work with a few “Tasmanian devils” in the local church. I don’t know if they actually enjoy all the fighting among themselves, but it seems to be something that they can’t keep from doing. The damage to themselves and to others is devastating to a local congregation and is a terrible witness to the community.

Galatians 5:15 says, “If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.”

Wildlife groups in Australia are still working to find an answer to the serious problem facing the Tasmanian devil. As for the cancerous devils in the church, the answer is strong leadership that demands repentance.