The Snake Bite

“Oh…it looks better, I think…,” replied the young male inmate in front of me. He sustained a rattle snake bite few days ago on two of his fingers of the right hand. The index finger looked like it healed already. But the more severe bite was on the middle finger. There was a little drainage on his old dressing that he requested if he could see us so the dressing could be changed.

Often times, I ask the inmates how they think their wounds are looking since night shift nurses do not perform treatments at night. Treatments are usually done in the morning by the day shift nurses who specifically go to the jail’s every unit and with their list, would start seeing them one by one.

I didn’t do this inmate’s initial dressing change. But it still looked awful to me. I wouldn’t go into a much more detailed steps I took to change his dressing. But over all, his finger was still swollen, and had a dark discoloration. It looked like it was rotting. But to him, it looked better.

“Awww…” he moaned.

“What’s wrong?” I asked though I know it might hurt a little because of the swelling.

“It hurts every time you guys change the dressing,” he replied with his face looking the opposite direction.

“Sir, it’s done,” I softly answered.

“It is?” he asked in disbelief with his eyes opened wide and bigger.

“Thank you. That’s the first time it didn’t hurt,” he smiled as he looked at his newly-dressed swollen finger.

“I saturated your old dressing with saline. That’s why you didn’t even feel the pain when I took off the dressing. Here are some few Motrin. Take them few minutes before the day nurses start your dressing change in the morning. So you won’t feel as much pain,” I added.

Carnal Christians….Seems like it’s hard to believe these words can go together. But they do. Since we are descendants of the famous first couple back in Eden days, the snake tempting Eve to take that bite from that fruit of knowledge, which she did, it had been difficult to re-program ourselves, despite us, being born-again Christians. Carnal means being controlled by the flesh.

We always think Satan as our spiritual enemies. But we forget that sometimes, our greatest enemies are ourselves. Our flesh. After accepting Christ into our hearts, we think that we are looking better in our spiritual state. That we are progressing. When deep inside, our flesh are warring against our own spirit. Against His Spirit in us. And the spiritual enemy, makes us think we are progressing when truly we’re not.

I know that you and I feel that pain. Deep inside. Whenever we do something we don’t want to do and end up doing it. Paul said it best:

“I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good. But I can’t help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes me do these evil things.” - Romans 7:14-17

Being born again and becoming a Christian is not enough to prevent us from sinning and from temptations. It is a lifelong process. Only by being saturated with the Living Water, by His Word and obeying them help us in our spiritual state.

Let us take a look again at our spiritual wounds, caused by our own choices and the snake’s bites…It’s through knowledge that we can overcome this and be healed. It’s through God’s Word.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” ~ 1 John 1:9