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Smarter Than A Spider

© Richard Maffeo

It looked like a speck of dust on the pinhead, but as I moved my finger closer, it suddenly sprouted legs. Each one stiffened into an exclamation mark pointed straight at me. The spider, whose body was not much larger than the period at the end of a sentence, warned, "Stand back! One step closer and I'll . . . ."

I couldn't resist teasing it, watching the tiny creature relax and then tense in defiance when I poked at it with my finger. As much as a spider can be "cute," I found the minuscule arachnid almost endearing in its useless posturing. But, cute or not, I had other things to do and soon tired of the game. I carried the pin cushion outside where I gently puffed the spider from its perch.

Later that evening, as my wife and I joked about that spine-tingling encounter, my thoughts drifted to another confrontation years earlier -- one not unlike the duel with my eight-legged friend.

It was 1970 and I was a 20 year-old member of the hippie movement doing my best to promote peace, love, drugs and sex. One evening, as I sat in my car waiting for the traffic light to turn green, the craziest thought I'd had in a long time popped into my mind: "What if there is a God?"

I was intrigued. Not having thought about a Supreme Being in years, I played with the idea: What if there is a God?" And almost immediately I bristled. It's a wonder my arms and legs didn't involuntarily stiffen into exclamation marks aimed straight at the heavens. "If there is a God," I quickly reasoned, "then I can't continue living like I am."

The light turned green, and I shook my head in defiance. The words never came through my lips, but my heart screamed: "Get away from me, God. One step closer and I'll . . . ."

He wasn't frightened.

Several months (and several pokes) later I tired of my "peace, love, drugs and sex" games. I could no longer stiffen at His prodding. I knew it was time to leave my perch.

I don't think King David toyed much with spiders, but he might have had someone like me in mind when he marveled how some men and women rage against the Almighty. Don't they recognize they couldn't take their next breath without His permission? Little wonder God laughs at them from His throne (Psalm 2:1-4).

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