Watermelon Seeds

by Becky Melendez

Growing up, I often heard my dad (Calvin Scott) make the following statement: “Eat the watermelon, spit out the seeds.” What he meant by this is: you may be listening to a preacher or teacher of the Word (or reading a book or magazine) and all of a sudden they throw out a statement that just doesn’t seem right. You feel in your spirit that what they said is not in line with the Word.

Ministers of the gospel are human, they make mistakes, but just because they say something wrong doesn’t mean they are evil or that you shouldn’t believe anything they say. When you hear or read something and feel a check in your spirit about what was said, you need to study what the Bible has to say about that subject. You may also want to seek out wise counsel.

The bottom line: Don’t believe everything someone says just because some of their teaching is good. And don’t reject everything someone says just because they are out of line with the Word in one area.

For example: There is a magazine for wives and mothers I like to read. It is full of outstanding advice for being a good wife and mother. But one thing they teach, which I disagree with is family planning. They say it is a sin for anyone in any situation to use family planning. They say, “You should trust God to plan your family”.

Another of my favorite magazines has the best advice on raising kids I’ve ever found. But some things they teach that I don’t personally agree with, are: you shouldn’t read any Bible but the King James version, women shouldn’t teach or preach the Word, or have devotions with their children, and home schooling is the only way to raise good kids, lets get real, it isn’t possible for everyone to home school, I’ve met some very good publicly educated kids.

So what do I do when I read these magazines, I eat the watermelon and spit out the seeds.

Something to beware of: Sometimes the devil uses someone quoting scripture to draw people into false religions. Seek God’s Word for the whole truth.