Episode #42 - Are You A Cuttlefish?

The aquarium was a big hit with the kids yesterday! We saw a lot of amazing things, but my favorite was the cuttlefish. It has this unique ability to camouflage itself instantly to blend in with it's immediate surroundings. We were able to see this on display right in front of our faces, but it got me thinking about my actions because...Well, aren't we all guilty of trying to blend in with the world around us? Rather than be transformed, we shrink back and allow ourselves to be conformed to the world. It must not be this way, friends, let's stand out and seek the approval of God and not of man.  

#SetYourMindAbovePodcast

Transcript

Welcome back to all of our listeners! I’m BJ Sipe, and you’re listening to the Set Your Mind Above podcast – where everyday ordinary events teach us extraordinary eternal truths. I’m so glad that you’ve tuned in today, I am excited to share my life and my faith with you, and I sure hope that you’ll do the same with me along the way. 

Well yesterday was an absolute hit with the kids at the aquarium in Newport, Kentucky. Everywhere we looked there was something unique, exotic, or fascinating to see. From sharks to seahorses, from alligators to penguins, we saw just a little bit of everything. We got to see them feeding the moray eels, which was both terrifying and incredible, much like the song I serenaded my family with afterwards about moray eels. You know how it goes, “When an eel bites your thigh and you bleed out and die, that’s a moray…” Okay, I guess I’ll spare you the rest of the song. All jokes aside, my favorite creature that we were able to observe out of all of them was the cuttlefish. No, not a codfish, like Peter Pan would demand Captain Hook call himself – a cuttlefish. These marine mollusks look like a tiny squid with tentacles for a mouth, in fact it is in the squid and octopus family called coleoid cephalopods, which posses the largest brain to body ratio among all invertebrates. But this big brained little creature has a different party trick than squirting ink everywhere like a busted ballpoint pen, it is a master of disguise. No, not the horrible Dana Carvey film, I’m talking about the most advanced camouflage abilities of any other known creature in the world.  Let me explain how it works. Cuttlefish have millions and millions of chromatophores, which is a fancy way of saying they have the ability to expand and contract these special cells in order to make their skin color change in the fraction of a second. Their ability to change colors is multifunctional, it is used for communication, hunting, or hiding from potential predators. As I was reading about the cuttlefish from the information provided by the aquarium, I looked into the water and I was certain that there were only two in the tank. Suddenly, what I thought was small clump of sand in the corner moved and immediately changed colors 8 or 9 times within just a few seconds. There was in fact a third cuttlefish, and the other two happened to get too close to his corner so he responded aggressively. I have never seen anything like it – not even a chameleon could come close to the level at which this sea creature was able to blend in. Once he finished scaring off the other two fish, he retreated to his corner and immediately went from his brownish red color to match his pigmentation perfectly with the sand around him. It was incredible. As soon as we got home, I jumped on BBC to see what else I could learn about the cuttlefish and his ability to disguise himself so well. In many of the videos I watched, I was searching hard for the fish and simply could not find it until it moved slightly or changed colors again. It’s that good. If you are a fellow nature enthusiast like myself, I would highly encourage you to take some time on YouTube learning more about this magnificent creature.

As I watched the cuttlefish settle back down into his corner after running off the other two, I couldn’t help but feel a little bit convicted in my heart about my own actions. To be perfectly honest, there have been many times that my behavior matches that exactly of the cuttlefish. And no, while I am not able to change the color of my skin in the fraction of a second, I am guilty of changing the way I talk, act, or behave to try and blend in with the world around me. We desperately want to be accepted by the people around us, it’s only human nature in our desire to be loved and feel wanted. However, sometimes in our pursuit of wanting to be accepted, we do so at the expense of our convictions. We conform ourselves to the norms, values, and beliefs of our friends, work place, or even our culture at large rather than standing firm in our faith. Consider what Paul writes in Romans 12:1-2, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Emphatically Paul tells us not to be conformed to this world, and yet sadly much like the cuttlefish there have been times when you could not tell the difference between me, who professed to be a Christian, and the world around me. Can you relate? I think we all can, because all of us at some point have been guilty of trying to please the people around us rather than trying to be pleasing to God. Just take a moment to consider why people do the things that they do. For example, people don’t just wake up and think things like, “today, I want to eat a tide pod!” However, for whatever reason, that became a popular trend on social media. So, in a desperate attempt for approval and acceptance, kids started eating tide pods and posting their experience on social media simply so they can be like everyone else. While eating tide pods can be very dangerous to your physical health, our conforming to the world can result in much more dangerous spiritual harm. Like water being poured into a glass, we take the shape of whatever we are surrounded by. We can find our opinions, beliefs, and even actions start looking less like Christ and more like the depraved world around us. My friends, it must not be this way in our life. We are called to be holy as God is holy, which means we have been called out of the world. Above anything else, I must desire to be pleasing to God and find favor in his sight, not in the eyes of the world around me. We must be transformed through the renewal of our minds, to walk in that which is good, acceptable, and pleasing to God. You cannot serve both God and man, such an attempt will only lead to double mindedness and a shipwrecked faith. Can I be bold for a moment? Stop caring about what other people think about you. When all is said and done, the only one whose approval matters is not your spouse, not your parents, not your friends, not the culture, it is only Jesus. So stop being a cuttlefish. Stand out & let your light shine as you live a life holy & pleasing to God.  

Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode. Tune in, Tuesday-Fridays, as a new podcast episode will be uploaded each day. Also, be sure to follow the Facebook page for the Set Your Mind Above podcast for future announcements and weekly video sessions that are uploaded on Saturdays. As you have the opportunity, share these thoughts with your friends and family, and share with me what important lessons you are learning from every day, ordinary events. Until next time know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.