Beware of Beauty – My Father's World

Clown fish and sea anemones – Adventure Aquarium, Camden, NJ
Rose
Flying Dragon
Fly agaric mushroom
Mimosa tree
Azalea blooms
Squirrel chowing down on bird seed
Lionfish – Adventure Aquarium, Camden, NJ

Can you identify what all of the items above have in common? To me, all of the subjects of those photos are attractive in some way. Some of them are colorful, and some are both colorful and very fragrant. The color of the mushroom makes it really stand out against its drab background. Squirrels are just cute and downright adorable (if you can get past the fact that they eat up all your bird seed), and I never get tired of watching them or photographing them. But there is another characteristic that all of the living things above have in common. Each one has an element of danger associated with it. Yep, even that adorable, furry squirrel!

Flying Dragon or Bitter Orange

I’m sure you know what’s dangerous about roses. To borrow a phrase that was the title of a 1988 Poison song, “Every rose has its thorn.” And take a look at the thorns in the pictures directly above. Those thorns belong to the pretty, white, flowering shrub in the first photo gallery, known as a Flying Dragon. So what about the azalea flowers and mimosa trees? Every part of an azalea plant contains toxins known as grayantoxins. These substances are poisonous for humans and animals and can affect the normal functioning of nerves and muscles, including the heart muscle. Smaller animals and young children are more severely affected if they ingest any part of an azalea, and the effects can sometimes be deadly. Even eating honey made from azaleas can cause symptoms. As for mimosa trees, their seed pods are very toxic, and the seeds within the pods are even more toxic. When I was growing up, I climbed and played in a lot of mimosa trees. Thankfully, I never ate any of the seed pods! But I certainly don’t remember anyone telling me that I shouldn’t. The chemicals in the seeds and pods are alkaloids that counteract the functions of vitamin B6 in the body, possibly resulting in muscle tremors and spasms and even convulsions and breathing problems. These symptoms may occur in grazing livestock if the animals consume around 1 to 1.5% of their body weight in seeds (which is possible for the animals to do at times because mimosa trees reproduce easily and can take over an area). And the plants that I’ve shown and talked about are just a few of the beautiful plants surrounding us that can be dangerous. Many other common flowers and vegetable plants have at least certain parts that are poisonous or irritating in some way.

Another example of a toxic plant. All parts of daffodils, if ingested, can cause stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Usually not life-threatening.

The pretty, red-colored mushroom with the white spots in the first photo gallery is most likely a fly agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria), which is known to be toxic and hallucinogenic. If that isn’t bad enough, what makes it even more dangerous is that you could easily confuse it with another species, one that might actually be deadly.

Coral reefs are undoubtedly some of the most breathtakingly beautiful habitats on this planet! They are, however, lurking with some potentially deadly life forms, and the coral reef itself can even pose problems for swimmers. If you happen to brush against a piece of coral while swimming, your abrasion will most likely become infected and take a long time to heal, because pieces of the coral become embedded in the wound. The actual coral animals that build the reefs have stinging cells, like sea anemones and jellyfish, so you may also get stung if swimming too close. You can see sea anemones and their long tentacles in the first photo with all the clown fish. Besides sea anemones and jellyfish (some deadly, like the Australian box jelly), there are many other dangerous animals found in a coral reef habitat. You might encounter a lionfish (seen in the first photo gallery), whose dorsal fins contain venomous spikes that cause painful, nauseating stings and possibly even heart failure. You could confront a deadly blue-ringed octopus or sea snake. You might lose part of your hand by trying to feed a moray eel. You might get spiked by a sea urchin or injected with venom from spines on the dorsal fins of a stonefish, one of the most venomous fish in the world. Those are just a few of the possible dangers that could be hiding in the colorful world of a coral reef domain, but I’m sure you get the point!

I’m so cute and adorable! How can I be dangerous???

If you attempt to feed or disturb squirrels or chipmunks, they could bite you, and they have been known to carry diseases such as salmonella, encephalitis, and rabies. They also carry parasites, like ticks, fleas, mites, and the fungus that causes ringworm. And, if squirrels happen to get into the attic or walls of your home, they can wreak havoc by chewing anything in sight, including electrical wires.

Thankfully, we go about our daily lives and aren’t really impacted by the hidden dangers in the beauty surrounding us. Sometimes it takes learning from our own mistakes or the mistakes of others to keep us from being harmed or harmed again. We are able to live around the danger and not be affected by it. Thinking about the dangers associated with some of the beautiful and attractive things in these photos got me to thinking about how the devil works. Someone once said, “The devil don’t come ugly.” Despite the grammar, that’s an important statement! We know from Ephesians 6: 11 that the devil is wily and scheming. (“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”) He portrays sinful things as fun, exciting, adventurous, pleasurable, popular, and perfectly safe. He lures us into his snare by making the bait look attractive, and then we are captives to his will. (2 Timothy 2:26 “and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”) Satan tempted Eve with beautiful fruit, and he lied about the consequences of partaking of it (Genesis 3:1-5). He tempted Christ with food when Christ was hungry (Matthew 4:2-4), and he will find our weaknesses and use them against us as well. That’s why we have to avoid the attractiveness of sin. We can’t let ourselves think that it’s okay to wade around in the cool, shallow waters of the sea of sin, or we will soon be swept away by the undertow into Satan’s deep waters. That’s why Paul tells us in Romans 12:9 to “abhor what is evil” and to “hold fast to what is good” and in I Thessalonians 5:22 to “abstain from every form of evil.” And what do we do to help us resist and avoid those things that the devil makes attractive? We wear God’s armor and defend ourselves with the sword of the Spirit (God’s word) and we pray. (Ephesians 6:13-18) I’ll wrap up with some more of Paul’s words from Philippians 4:8-9. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me – practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Sin is real. The devil is real. The devil makes sin appear very attractive, but the danger is real also.

To read more about how to protect yourself from the devil, read my lesson “Protect Yourself from Predators.”

Proverbs 22:5 “Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked; whoever guards his soul will keep far from them.”

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