Did you ever play the arcade game called whack-a-mole? If not, let me describe it for you. You stand over a game top that is about waist high, holding a soft rubber mallet in your hand. This is used “to hit robotic toy moles that pop up randomly in holes laid out across the surface of the machine.” As the mole pops up, you have to whack it before it disappears. The moment you miss a mole, the game is over.
The challenge is that as the game goes on, more and more moles pop up all over the game top until, in the end, there are simply too many moles to whack. The moles win and you lose.
Sometimes, dealing with heresy and false teaching in the Body, it can feel the same way.
No sooner do you whack the latest error than another error pops up. And another. And more. The quicker you whack them, the more quickly they appear.
Whack, whack, whack, but the moles just keep popping up at an ever-increasing pace. What are we to do?
If we deal with heresies and false teachings the way we deal with these arcade moles, we will quickly wear ourselves out, not to mention become increasingly frustrated in the process. We also run the risk of getting so focused on the moles that we take our eyes off Jesus.
That is a high price to pray for a mole...