The Little Foxes that Spoil the Vine

 The Little Foxes that Spoil the Vine

Song of Solomon 2:15

Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes. 

In the ancient world, vineyards were extremely valuable. A vineyard required planting, pruning, protecting, and patience before it produced a harvest. 

Little foxes can slip into a vineyard unnoticed. And because they can’t reach the grapes on the vine, they dig around the roots and damage the young vines, trying to get to the fruit. In the process, they harm the vine and destroy the developing grapes. 

What are the little foxes in our lives?

Little foxes are the small things that we let slide because we think they won’t matter. Thinking I only do this occasionally, so it will be okay. Things like:

A little lie here and a little lie there 

Skipping out on your time with God here and there and not being consistent

Gossiping about your neighbor just this once. 

The little jealousies and anger and bitterness that you let slide

Cuss words that you say every once in a while. 

Pride is another one

These little things often don’t remain little. It's like going into the dollar tree and expecting only to spend ten bucks. Oftentimes you come out spending way more than you intended. The same thing goes for these little sins you think won’t matter because they’re small. They mount up over time, and they will grow. The devil will make sure of it. 

You see, the vineyard represents our heart, and the grapes are the fruit that our heart produces. Think about the fruits of the Spirit: faith, peace, joy, love, patience, longsuffering, kindness, meekness. These all affect our relationships and our family that God has entrusted us with. 

Those things are like tender grapes. They need protecting and pruning. The garden of our heart needs tending just like a real garden does. 

You have to watch out for bitterness, unforgiveness, lying, and all these things that are unlike God. 

So ask yourself: what fruit is growing in your heart? What needs tending to? Have you let little foxes run rampant? Have the weeds taken over?  If so, it’s time to prune. IT’s time to start tending to what needs pulling up. 

Consider resentment. Someone hurts you, and it starts out small at first, but you keep replaying it over and over in your head, and anger starts to boil, and pretty soon you're fighting mad, and your resentment now has roots. Hebrews 12:15 warns about a “root of bitterness.”

If you’ve ever prayed for an enemy before and thought you had finally forgiven them, but then something else happens and all those old feelings are right back. That means you have a root. It has already formed a root in your heart, and you’re going to have to keep digging and asking God for help to get rid of it. Keep praying for them to be saved and for God to bless them. Remember that Jesus died for them too. Every time that root pops up, kill it by praying for them

See, roots are just like those little foxes; they’re underneath the surface where no one can see them, but they're there, and they cause a whole lot of damage if not taken care of. 

Little foxes can also enter our relationships

Relationships don’t usually collapse because of one thing. 

They often erode little by little, piece by piece,

Slowly being damaged by hundreds of little things:

sarcasm, disrespect, refusing to apologize, keeping score, assuming motives, constantly criticizing, gossiping, ignoring someone, jealousy, pride.

One incident may seem insignificant.

But repeated over months or even years, the vineyard suffers.

God tells us in His word in  Ephesians 4:26–27:

“Let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.” — KJV

Don’t let anger sit and brew. Forgive before it gets any bigger, and that may take a while, but work on it every day until it's gone. You work on it by praying for that person and an honest, good prayer for their salvation or for God to bless them if they’re already saved. You may even have to go to them and talk things out. Make peace. The Bible says to pursue peace with all men. 

Our words can also be little foxes. James 3 says the tongue, though small, can produce enormous consequences.

James 3:5 says:

“Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!”

Watch the words that you speak. God tells us to let our communication be to lift one another up. 

Proverbs 18:21 says:

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” — KJV

Your words are important. Speak life into your relationships and your physical health. Start agreeing with God's word instead of always agreeing with the devil. Anything you say that goes against God’s word is of the devil. I used to have a bad habit of, every time I got sick, saying I was dying. Well, God's word says I shall live and not die saith the Lord, so every time I accidentally said I was dying, I would counteract it and say, " No, God's word says I shall live and not die saith the Lord. 

Sometimes the fox is something we excuse in ourselves

It's easy to identify everybody else's foxes but not our own. That’s why the Bible says in Matthew 7:3-5 

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?  Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

Usually when we’re judging others, we’re judging them by ourselves cause we’re doing the same things we’re judging them for. Romans 2:1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 

Ask the Lord to remove anything in you that is unlike Him. Psalm 139:23–24 says:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart… And see if there be any wicked way in me.” — KJV

Ask God to show you where the foxes are that you aren’t able to see. 

Maybe your fox is resentment, pride, complaining, procrastination. Maybe it's comparing yourself with other people. Maybe it's refusing to forgive someone. Whatever it is, you need to ask God to help you get rid of it. At judgment day, you’re not going to be asked about someone else’s life. You’re going to be asked about your own.