A parrot is really a bunch of feathers with two wings attached, that are used to propel a giant beak at the front. Beaks are wonderful things that can be used for crunching up nuts, delicate preening, or for improvised “woodwork” around the house. And having a beak means that you never have to pay a visit to the dentist.
So, what about humans? How do you manage with just a nose? Well, actually, -noses can be very useful, so long as they are used in the right way. In fact, good nose control is a formula for good living.
For example, it’s better not to:
10) Look down your nose at somebody because of pride.
9) Or poke it into somebody else’s business. (Because that’s strife and dissension).
8) Or snoop around with it. (That’s nosiness and gossip).
7) And to avoid becoming angry, you never want to get your nose out of joint. (Anyway, that sounds painful).
6) And to avoid even greater anger, you never want to cut it off to spite your face.
5) And to stay clear of materialism, make sure that you never pay through your nose.
All human noses should be used for positive things. For example:
4) You can often find something good lurking right under it. Things like God’s Love and Salvation.
3) And if you can see past the end of your nose, you’ll likely to believe in Hope and Eternity.
2) And if you manage to keep your nose clean, you will also discover Humility and Honesty.
And perhaps most important of all:
1) You can use your nose to get stuck into a good book, such as the Bible.
So, just like parrot beaks, noses can be really good things when they are propelled in the right direction, and used correctly. You could argue that the behaviour of your nose reflects your inner nature. If you abuse it, harm will follow. And curiously, the book of Proverbs says just this:
“…….twisting the nose produces blood…” (Proverbs 30:33b)
So unless you have a rather large stomach, a nose serves as a trailblazer for the rest of you. It sticks out in front of everything else, and leads you into different places, situations and scenarios. And what you do with it serves as your moral barometer. And the Bible reminds us that how we behave with our noses, -along with all of our other body parts, -effects our relationship with God.
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit….” (1 Corinthians:6:19a)
You could argue that your nose reflects the battle that many of us have between the physical and the spiritual. Which one will prevail inside you? Will you let the Holy Spirit in to take control of things, and keep your nose clean, or will you allow your physical part to dictate your worldly existence?
You see, there’s a lot more to a nose than you might have first thought!
