Signs That Fly Under The Radar

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.

A pretty innocuous verse spoken to the multitude, by Jesus, during the sermon on the mount. At least that’s what I always believed, if I ever gave it much thought. Like most everything Jesus said, His words weren’t meant for just His immediate audience they were meant for all generations. Obviously, there are verses that are directed at that “last generation” but, this isn’t one of those or is it? The multitude He spoke to wasn’t particularly wealthy at least not in the way our generation is, principally those of the industrialized nations in North America and Europe. We routinely “lay up” or put away money for retirement. Probably not something that was being done by the multitude or generation Jesus was speaking to at the time.

Today I ran across an article that immediately made me think of this verse. According to the National Trust and English Heritage group that monitors the condition of historic English homes, there has been a 216% increase in the number of webbing clothes moths. They are one of only two moth species (out of 2,500) that eat textiles and objects derived from animals, including wool, silk, skin and fur. In general, moths like many beneficial insects are on the decline but, not this one!

So, perhaps in this particular instance Jesus wasn’t speaking in generalities or to all generations. Perhaps, he was speaking to a later or “last” generation, one like ours that has attained that kind of wealth. Perhaps this is another sign that we are in the last days. Perhaps not. Food for thought anyways.

The article can be found at: www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/19/revenge-of-the-clothes-moths-as-numbers-boom-can-they-be-stopped?utm_source=pocket-newtab