Some
tarot cards scare people: Death, The Devil, The Tower.
Some
tarot cards are warm and fuzzy: The Star, the six of cups.
Other
tarot cards are like Rorschach tests. Some people look at them and see
something really bad. Others look at the exact same picture and see something
they like.
The
seven of swords depicts a man stealing his enemies' swords, right in the enemy
camp. The enemy is too far away, too taken by surprise, to react effectively.
Some
look at this card and see trickery and theft and assume themselves to be the
victims. "Someone is tricking me. Someone is stealing from me."
I
identify with the thief. I think he's doing a good thing. He is forfending war
by peacefully stealing the bad guys' weapons of war. I like this card. One reader
says to interpret it this way, "Work smarter, not harder."
In
Matthew 10:16, Jesus says, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the
middle of wolves: be you therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."
Any
English major would identify Matthew 10:16 as a mixed metaphor.
A Christian
hears this and is shocked. The Bible refers to serpents at least 48 times and
each mention is mostly negative. Serpents are tricky, stealthy killers.
Serpents are associated with the devil in Genesis and in Revelation.
And
here Jesus is telling his followers to be like serpents?
Yes.
And yes it is a mixed metaphor. Jesus is conveying a great deal of information
in a small, powerful package.
Christians
are to be two apparently contradictory things: as innocent as lambs, as doves,
but also to be aware of what a tough place the world is, and to protect
themselves, by guile, if necessary.
I
think Jesus might be one of those people who look at the picture in the seven
of swords and appreciate it.
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