Galatians 5:15 “If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.”
It is interesting that the law of mutual destruction is a consistent biblical doctrine. Sometimes we think we gain by devouring others with our words. After all, we certainly don’t want others to escape true justice. Of course, we happen to be the devout judges in this affair.
The “biting” can be a reference to offensive language, false accusations, slander, etc. To “devour” someone is to consume their well-being leaving them defenseless and ashamed. These methods vary significantly from the biblical remedy of speaking the truth in love. Love protects one another. Yet, according to Paul, when church members engage in such activities, they are digging for themselves their own graves.
The end of devouring someone is that you are consumed by your own appetite. It is a profound idea to remember this Lenten Season that Jesus could have easily devoured those nearest to him, but yet, he fulfilled the commandments (Gal. 5:14) and loved them even to the point of death.
As the Lenten Season carries its blow to our pride, let us repent of biting and devouring one another. May we rightly repent and turn from the addiction of destroying others for that addiction leads to death.
