Yarb d'Farb Knarb \YARB-du-farb-narb\, exclamatory phrase: 1. No! Don't go there. 2. Stop! That's too far. 3. Hey! Come over here (where you belong).

Have you ever been near an electric fence? Growing up in the rural South, I have. Many times. The ones I encountered when I was young, had an almost inaudible hum about them that warned you (if you were paying attention) that you were about to cross into forbidden territory and you wouldn't like the consequences. I guess you could say there was electricity in the air. You could almost feel it.

Well, when I was young, our neighbor had a brahma bull that he kept in the field across the road from us. I had been warned by my parents about how mean that bull was and to never go near or tease him. But it didn't bother me to play at the end of our yard or walk down the road in front of his field because there was an electric fence and he never got too close to it.

The bull didn't understand the power behind the fence, nor did he fully understand that it was put there to protect him and others, but he had learned that there was a boundary. The promise of pain was enough to keep him on the safe side of that boundary.

When I was about 20, I had some friends who lived in town, in an apartment. They also owned a ferret. They wanted the ferret to be able to enjoy the great outdoors but they didn't want him to run away and get lost or killed. So they bought a leash. Have you ever seen a ferret on a leash? Well, if you've ever seen a two year old, in a sugar induced frenzy, with one of those kid harnesses on, then you've got a pretty good idea of what it was like.

The ferret would sniff the grass, take a few steps, something would catch its attention, and ZOOM! You could almost see a little puff of dust where the ferret had been just a second before, just like a cartoon. The owners would exclaim something to the effect of "No! Stop!". But the ferret would ignore the warning, continue on, and then he would suddenly come to end of his rope - literally. Ack!

After watching this play out for about the fiftieth time, one of my friends turned to me and said, "I know he doesn't understand English - to him it probably sounds like 'Yarb d'Farb Knarb!'. But you'd think he would learn that it was some kind of warning, and stop before he got to the ACK (making a choking motion)!

Hmmmm, I know there's a lesson for all of us in there somewhere.

But if you don't know God, then I need to tell you, that there are some serious boundaries He has set for you. Boundaries that you must not break through. They are spelled out in the Bible. He has given you many, many warnings. Are you paying attention to the hum in the air? If you ignore His warnings and break these boundaries, then when you get to the end of your life there will be a big ACK! waiting for you. God doesn't want that. Please see "Are You A Good Person?", or "Need God?" and take a quick test to see where you stand with God.

You may feel like you don't understand the Bible, or the God of the Bible. You don't have to understand everything, you just have to be willing to learn. And this is the beginning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.