Did you know that Jesus wants His followers (us) to be like snakes? When Jesus sent His disciples out to preach the gospel, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead and cast out demons, He told them that it would be dangerous work. (We are all teachers in training – we all influence people around us, people notice that we’re different, it can attract hostility). “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves” (Matthew 10:16, first part). One modern version reads, “Stay alert. This is hazardous work I’m assigning you. You’re going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack” (The Message). That sounds pretty risky to me. Jesus also gave the 12 disciples advice about what to do in this hazardous situation. This is good advice for each of us as we go through our daily lives: “Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (last part of verse 16). Have you ever wondered what that meant? Wise and harmless? How are serpents wise and how are doves harmless? Can we be just one and not the other?