Let Creation Speak! An Invitation to Awe and Wonder by Michael Guillen, PhDSample

DETOX PROGRAM

The most poisonous frogs in the world live in Central and South America. They’re called poison dart frogs (family Dendrobatidae) because for centuries indigenous hunters smeared their blowgun darts with the frogs’ poison to bring down large prey, including jaguars and monkeys.

As is often the case with toxic plants and animals, poison dart frogs are brightly colored. The skin of the Harlequin variety (Oophaga histrionica), for instance, is dappled with more than thirty dazzling, neon-like hues.

Golden poison dart frogs (Phyllobates terribilis), which live in the lowland rain forests of Colombia, are the most lethal of all. A single frog—roughly the size of a paper clip—carries enough poison on its skin to kill ten full-grown men on contact.

One of the more astonishing features of the poison dart frog is that it isn’t poisonous by nature. Its toxicity isn’t genetic. Rather, its extreme deadliness comes from its steady diet of poisonous insects. The poison builds up inside the frog’s tiny body and oozes out of its skin.

When poison dart frogs feed on nonpoisonous foods—as they do in most zoos—they lose their toxicity. They become as harmless as ordinary frogs!

REFLECTION

According to the Bible, we are genetically predisposed to rebel against God. It’s the fallen nature we’ve inherited from our common ancestors, dating back to Noah’s family, who themselves inherited it from Adam and Eve.

Despite that, however, there is a very practical way for you to keep your fallen nature in check. Cut back on the poisons you ingest from what you listen to, watch, and think about—poisons that inevitably ooze out of you.

Yes, it’s not easy to change diets. But the Bible explains: Choose constantly to be mindful of God, and your appetite for good things will automatically increase—for entertainment that inspires; relationships that lift you up, not tear you down; ambitions that are in line with—not hostile to—God’s will for your life.

Don’t put it off. The time to detoxify your diet is now.