Living in paradise

"all things are lawful"

1 Corinthians 10:23

I love bird of paradise.  My parents had some growing in our backyard when I was little, so it's sort of a plant of happy memories for me.  And I love that it's a plant, but it's called a bird; I guess because it sort of looks like one.   And there are several varieties, in different colors.  All beautiful and exotic-looking.

from Wikipedia

And I remember when I learned that there are also birds called birds-of-paradise.  They live mostly on the island of New Guinea, and there are many species of these unbelievably colorful, and elaborately decorated birds.  I mean to tell you, God had fun when He was creating these!

from a beautiful website called worldbirders.com

Look at the colors!

from worldbirders.com ~ Check 'em out!

Makes you want to travel to New Guinea, doesn't it?

 also from worldbirders.com

Okay, now you see those long feathers coming from the head?  Impressive, yes?

would you believe? worldbirders.com!

... and the tail-feathers on that one?  I'll tell you an interesting story about the feathers...

I was reading an article recently about birds-of-paradise.  They are not only beautiful, but they have elaborate mating rituals; dances, really.  And these dances can have a lot to do with those long feathers, sometimes with more than one male competing for the attention of a female.  It must be quite a sight to behold!

This article also talked about the people that live on the island of New Guinea.  The birds ~ as I'm sure you can imagine ~ were, at one time, hunted in great numbers, but are now protected from hunters or "souvenir" gatherers.  The exception is the native tribes of New Guinea.  Because the feathers are used in their traditional costume and ceremonies, they are legally allowed to have them.  The feathers adorn headdresses and costumes, and are even worn in the nose during tribal dances. 

Tribes are allowed to hunt the birds, but very few do.  Ceremonial feathers are handed down from generation to generation.  And I was so impressed with how much these people care about these birds.  And the fact that though they are allowed to hunt them, they don't.  It's just not what is best, certainly for the birds, but also for the environment, for the ecosystem. 

It made me think of this verse in 1 Corinthians:  "all things are lawful for me, BUT..."  It's actually twice in 1 Corinthians.  The first time is in chapter 6, verse 12, and has to do with ourselves.  "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful."  The point is that it may not be sinful for you to eat chocolate, or drink wine, but that doesn't mean it's good for you. 

The other instance is in 1 Corinthians 10, verse 23.  This one, I think, is even more beautiful in its sentiment:  "All things are lawful for me, but not all things edify."  It goes on to say, "Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's well-being."  In this one, the focus is on others.  Though it may not be sinful for you to drink wine, doing so in front of a struggling alcoholic is certainly not loving thy neighbor.

The responsible thoughtfulness of the native tribes of New Guinea is a beautiful example of not taking for granted the freedoms we are given ~ and not taking advantage of them, either.

~ "the earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness" ~

1 Corinthians 10:26