Lessons From The Zombie Salmon

Sometime ago I was able to go salmon fishing in Upstate NY. I was so excited when my lure had been taken by a fish. As I struggled to bring the fish to the riverbank I noticed the fight was not nearly as hard as I had envisioned. When the fish broke the water’s surface I found that I had been busy “landing” a zombie fish. I was frustrated. What I had caught was a near dead stinky white spotted fish that was of no use. It couldn’t swim upstream. It floated with the current. It couldn’t spawn. All it could do was destroy the life of the eggs that other salmon had spawned and fertilized to propagate the species for one more year. 

I’ve had my fair share of zombie Christians too. They also have no fight. They refuse to spawn spiritually. They sit around not picking the progress others are making and destroy the lives of the future of the church by devouring their zeal and enthusiasm. They aren’t involved in the church’s outreach. They don’t give faithfully. They just stick around wasting their life interfering with the hopes of fishermen lining the shore. They too stink. Everyone can tell they stink. They are very offensive. They are bitter, condescending, and full of scorning. 

The only recourse is to drag them out of the water and let them die so they do not destroy any other “eggs” or waste anyone else’s time and energy. Zombie Salmon refused to swim upstream. They took their time enjoying the river and weren’t focused on the time they had left. They got distracted by the world around them and didn’t pay attention to the changing of seasons and times. When they came to adversity they stopped swimming. Sure they are in the river but they are NO good to anyone. Not even to themselves. Nobody wants a zombie fish. Not even the bears (Satan) will eat them. They line the riverside rotting to death. Their meat is rough and nasty. They are a detriment to everyone and everything around them. 

Don’t be a zombie salmon. Keep swimming. Leave new lives alone. Stop offending. Pay attention to the seasons and times. Overcome adversity. Don’t be a distraction to those doing the work.