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“The Scorpion and the Frog is a fable of unknown author…The story is about a scorpion asking a frog to carry him across a river. The frog is afraid of being stung, but the scorpion reassures him that if it stung the frog, the frog would sink and the scorpion would drown as well. The frog then agrees; nevertheless, in mid-river, the scorpion stings him, dooming the two of them. When asked why, the scorpion explains, “I’m a scorpion; it’s my nature!”

Prominent is the thought by some that the base nature of someone is insuppressible. While this is so true of animal life, it is not true of humans. While we are certainly products of our environment to a degree, the gospel teaches us that man can change his nature. He can overcome the “natural” man. I have heard men excuse their “base” behavior by saying, “That is how I am”, or ,”God made me this way, I cannot change!” These are not true statements. Men and women are not scorpions or dogs! We are offspring of a divine being. We do have the ability to change and become better than “base.”