Pam is an avid birdwatcher.  We’ll be driving along the highway at 60 miles an hour and she’ll point excitedly out the window at some blur of motion, “Look, a red-tailed hawk!” or “a blue heron!” or “a golden eagle!”  I try to keep up, but to me they just look like… well… birds. I know the obvious ones- cardinals, robins, blue jays, crows; but beyond that, I don’t have a great eye for our feathered friends. I now have a greater tolerance for people who can’t tell a Ford from a Chevy. But even though birdwatching isn’t my thing, I like to go with her to bird sanctuaries and such. I love the way her eyes light up when she’s found an unusual bird.

This past week we were up in New England by the sea.  Our vacation rental overlooked a rocky jetty on the bay that created still pools for waterfowl to come and feed.  Pam and I spent mornings and evenings on the porch taking it all in.

One day she pointed out a weird spectacle, not out on the bay, but on a nearby lawn.  In the bushes right next to our house, a tiny momma bird was feeding a baby bird that was obviously larger than she was.  It looked ridiculously out of place and completely mismatched, this little bird scrambling around to feed a fat, sedate and apparently very hungry larger bird.  Pam recognized it right away, “it’s a sparrow and a cowbird!”, she exclaimed.

A what?  And with that I was introduced to one of the more bizarre spectacles of nature.

Cowbirds are brood parasites.  They don’t raise their own but instead are infamous for laying eggs in other birds’ nests.  In the spring, when the nest of a rival bird is left momentarily unattended, the cowbird sneaks in and lays an egg of its own. The host bird, then, is left to unwittingly do all the work of hatching and raising a bird that isn’t even the same species.

But it gets worse. Cowbird eggs hatch early, often before those of the host nest.  And the chicks are often much larger than their nest mates. With longer necks and bigger mouths, they bully the other chicks to get a lion’s share of the food. Consequently, the host family suffers while the imposter grows in strength and dominance.

That’s crazy! But I see a spiritual parallel… can you?

Our Enemy is all about deception.  He’s constantly trying to sneak an “egg” into our nest- something foreign and evil that doesn’t belong and will ultimately bring harm and destruction to our soul.

Maybe it’s a lie for you to believe- “You’ll never measure up.”, or “God doesn’t really care about you.”, or “God’s rules are outdated, you don’t need to believe or obey THAT.” And that lie that you’ve embraced is sowing seeds of doubt and causing you to isolate from God and other spiritual friends.

Maybe it’s a temptation or distraction- social media, ungodly music, an unhealthy relationship, or excessive dependence.  And you find that this thing that started out innocent enough is taking over your thinking, hardening your heart and strangling your faith.

Hebrews 3 warns us not to be “hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13).”  And James warns that unhealthy “desires give birth to sin; and sin, when it is allowed to grow, gives birth to death (James 1:15).” So, what egg has Satan snuck into your nest? What starts out small may end up dominating and destroying your life.

It’s time to take a hard look at our beliefs and choices and do some housecleaning. If sin and lies go unchallenged or we uncritically embrace the things of this world, we may find ourselves spiritually exhausted because a giant, fat, lazy, cowbird is sucking us dry and running us ragged.  Maybe it’s time to clean the nest.

What needs to go in your life so better things can grow and thrive?

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8