Tint Devotional for Wednesday, 08-30-2033

 A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, what else did you forget?

The leech has two daughters,
“Give,” “Give.”
Proverbs 30:15a, NASB

The Hebrew word translated as ‘leech’ is עֲלוּקָה (ʿălûqâ), and this is the only place in the Bible where it is used. Don’t look now, but it MIGHT mean...vampires! 
That interpretation doesn’t really work, though, because vampires and other monsters are NOT found in ancient Jewish stories. Although there IS a similar-sounding word in Arabic, which does have some blood-sucking-monster stories, I think it far more likely this refers to an actual leech, and the human equivalent.

Here’s the ‘duh’ message: 

If you hang around with leeches, you’ll get more leeches. 

Here’s the insight message, from ‘Fortunate Son’:

When you ask 'em, "How much should we give?"
They only answer, "More, more, more, more"

So, who are we talking about? 

• ‘Friends,’ who only show up when they need something. 
• ‘Church bums,’ who have a hard luck story they peddle from church to church, fishing for a handout. 
• Fundraisers of every flavor, who constantly screech of the danger ahead if you don’t send them money right away.
• That crazy relative, who always wants to talk about  how they are alone and abandoned and mistreated.

Do any of these ring a bell? Any others come to mind? 

If you have the financial or time resources, you might be willing to indulge them; if you do, though, they most likely will never go away. Those resources ARE yours, after all, and you may dispose of them as you please. It‘s your call.
Don’t ever expect them to change, though. Leeches aren’t caterpillars, they don’t transform into butterflies. 

They just have daughters.

Peace be on your household.