The Little Foxes That Spoil The Vineyard

Big angers or little irritations, which are most destructive? Which are more important to deal with?

They are all destructive but it is the little ones that are hardest to see. Solomon in "Song of Songs" exhorts us to "catch the little foxes, as it is the little foxes that spoil the vineyard". Solomon is hinting that it is the littlest ones that do the greatest damage because they are the hardest to see. A large enemy is less a problem because it is easier to see...to hear them. Who could miss a moose trampling through the woods, snapping tree limbs with loud cracks with his antlers as he goes? A moose would have hard time sneaking up on anything. But a fox can easily sneak through the brush with no one even knowing he was there. It would take especially vigilant and well trained ears to perceive the approach of a little fox.

Our mind, of course, is the vineyard. However, we can in no way see an enemy approach, let alone a little fox, unless we are very skilled at being vigilant. Skills that are honed with training and constant practice. In fact, if we are to become a successful vineyard keeper we learn to become so watchful that we can detect and stop the enemy coming long before they get into the vineyard and have a chance to steal a single grape.

The enemy can be large or small but unless we remain on our watch we can not hope to protect our vineyard. Only when we are on our post watching faithfully can we perceive an enemy approaching. If we are a sleep or away from our post our vineyard is open to being damaged or destroyed by an enemy. How can a sleeping man defend against an approaching enemy? He only knows the enemy has arrived when the enemy has already done its damage and it is too late.

Whether a big or small enemy it is our watchfulness that is the first line of defense of our vineyard. Practice and experience is our second line of defense. If we can not spot the big enemies coming, the little ones will be even harder to see. Therefore, we train ourselves first and foremost to be vigilant watchers of the vineyard. At first we may fail to see or hear the enemy approach. We may lose a battle or two, but with time and experience we learn to perceive the enemy, big or small, approaching from a long way off. In time we use what we come to know to go out and meet the enemy on his turf, long before me enters our vineyard. In this way we defeat or drive the enemy away and keep our vineyard safe and unspoiled.

The enemy, then, is not really the primary problem. There will always be enemies to deal with. The real problem is whether we are vigilant or not. The solution to our problem then lay in training ourselves in early detection of all our enemies, big or small. In this way, it is our skilled watchfulness that defends and protects our vineyard. Without watchfulness, we can not hope to preempt a sneak attack. Without watchfulness, our vineyard will be overtaken time and again until there is nothing left for an enemy to take. For this reason, if we wish to produce a bountiful harvest, we must take up our post as diligent watchers, as perceptive defenders of our vineyard, day by day, never tiring, never faltering, never sleeping on the job.