The Backyard Wars

Yesterday was such a spring-like day that I started thinking about putting out the humming bird feeders. Now, I know it is not March yet, but I miss the pure excitement of the backyard wars.

My feeders all have at least four perches from which the hummingbirds can drink nectar. I have five feeders. So I should be able to feed at least 20 hummingbirds, right? Wrong! It seems that humming birds, like humans, can be very territorial. One humming bird will lay claim to one feeder and refuse to allow any other humming bird to have a drink, even though there is more than enough to go around. I have to refill my feeders every two days because I have so many humming birds, but that one little bird spends most of his/her time trying to unsuccessfully protect that one feeder. In fact I have heard them hit each other so hard that you would think they would crack their little noggins.

Isn't it silly how jealous one humming bird can be over a silly little feeder that, if left alone, will have enough to feed not only him, but three to five of his closest friends? There is enough to go around and the feeder is always full.

That is what jealousy looks like. When someone is in "love" but behaves jealously, we are just like the one "lord and master of the feeder" hummingbird. We surround the one we love and fight off anyone who might want to access that person for fear the other person will drink up all the sweet nectar of their love. We spend way to much effort fending off "invaders" instead of taking drink after drink of the love that is offered. That is why when God decided to talk about love, He decided to advise against jealousy. Because people don't know how to be jealous for one another like God is, we just know how to be jealous of someone.

Well, it is time to get back to cleaning the feeders since March is not far off. This year I am going to hang the feeders all in one group. The humming bird experts say that way there is so much activity that one bird can't take over a feeder. Hmmmm...Maybe that's what God wants us to do. To hang in groups so that no one feel isolated or left out. It also prevents jealousy because there is not enough energy or time to fight off everyone. Yeah, that's what I'll do, I'll make them all "groupies" so that no one gets "jealous."