The second way to fish is to put the morsel on the hook. There is a thrill to feeling the tug of the line and the joy of catching that big one. Sometimes we're satisfied with quality over quantity and admire the rare fish on the line. It isn't big, but it sure is beautiful! Either way, the sport is when the fish and the fisherman make a connection. The fisherman looks longingly at the fish, but wishing no harm, throws it back to be either caught again or to enjoy aquatic freedom. It's not the fisherman's intent to keep the fish, but merely to enjoy its existence in tranquil waters. Some fishermen would never dream of eating his marine buddy! Neither does the fish have pain unless the fisherman uses the wrong hook or plays the pulling game too hard.
The third way to fish is to use a hook with the intent of keeping the fish. Unless the fish is a reject or not legal, the fish will be kept and will soon be in a frying pan! The fisherman can taste the mildness of the meat long before it meets his mouth. The ultimate fisherman has protein needs and fish are protein. It would be stupid to spare this legal and fine fish from his taste buds!
The last example is fishing with a net or using an explosive to shock. These methods catch many fish, but may be illegal in some places. The greedy fisherman may use these techniques, or it may be that those whose vocation is fishing may use the net to be able to live himself. The greedy fisherman just has fun catching fish. He cares little about harming the fish or getting more than his share. The vocational fisherman takes only what he can sell to others and maybe a few for himself. He needs the fish, takes them, but doesn't abuse his power.
There is a point to this fish story. I'm not going to reveal that I caught a huge fish that got away. Indeed, I caught a nice fish and kept her. My fish is my wife and I went fishing one day for her. I used bait to catch her. When I first spied her swimming through life, I thought "What a beautiful fish. I wish I had her for me!" Since I was fishing for a catch to keep, I had to be careful not to hurt her as I pulled her in! I was fishing for a keeper, not one to admire and throw back. I had done that before, but now was the time to have a relationship with my fish. It was no longer for sport, but to meet my needs! Above the stratum of basic needs is the need to be loved! I wanted my fish to love me!
What bait to use? An artificial bait was sure to be detected! I've used artificial bait before and had little luck. What I presented was genuine bait. My bait had been around awhile, but it was still live bait. I decided to use my true self to catch that beautiful fish! I came to pick her up in a junker car wearing pitiful clothes. I did take her out to dinner and to a movie, but my bait was relatively inexpensive. I revealed to her that I had no money and a few bills to pay. I gave her the best smile that I could muster and took her to my friend's house to swim in a school of nice people. She took my bait, and this quality fish is now my trophy. She's my trophy wife!
I was fisherman No. 3. I fished to catch and keep! I'm glad I did because that fish has fed me for life! I don't even fish any more.
Before I dated her, most often I merely enjoyed the fish. I didn't fish to keep them, but watched them in the water. The most beautiful fish played games with my bait and never got near the hook. I don't believe that I wanted to catch any of them because by reflex I jerked the bait away about the time the fish tired of swimming around and around me. I wanted a beautiful fish, and by waiting on God's timing, I got a beautiful keeper! God kept those playful fish from getting too near my bait, and he told me to keep the bait away from a fish I would be sorry if caught it! I quit fishing for awhile because I needed keeper! God showed me clearer waters. He messed with my health to get me to change ponds. I found a pond with several fish, but one that was of high quality.She's the one that I caught!
Some of these fish where I never baited the hook or kept it at a distance, resulted in some really nice fish friends. Because those fish were ones I liked, but didn't love, I kept them for friends. I still see them in the waters at times, smile as I enjoy their friendship, but thank God that none got near my bait! These fish are mine forever. Even when I don't see them, they will always be with me. These fish are keepers, but not trophies. Even when they die, my memories live on. I still have memories of those little fish back in school where I learned to fish. They weren't big enough to fry so I left them in the pond!
Some of the other fish, were caught by method 2. I enjoyed the day of fishing, caught a few, but threw them back. They were merely game fish and were fine for the day. Game fish seem to have some flaws. They may be too small, too large, linger in muddy waters, eat poor things off the bottom from the mud, or are just not very pretty fish. Some are colorful and shine in the sun, but inside the meat is dark or the taste putrid. Many of these fish have a fishy taste. Beware of those. They can make a man sick!
Some of these fish I kept for a few days, but their odor became more of a stench. I soon had no desire to keep those fish, and with time, threw them back in the pond. Some hated that this poor fisherman snagged their eye when they had no desire for my bait. They quickly swam away from this fisherman to another that they thought were better fisherman!
Not only does the fisherman use bait, but for a fish to catch the right fisherman, she must use bait as well. It's the most beautiful fish that catch the fisherman's eye. Some are too small so pad themselves to appear a significant catch. Others apply pretty colors and amplify their intense eyes. They go into waters reflecting just the right amount of sun to project their hidden beauty.
Other fish swim slowly and graceful. The fisherman says to himself "I might catch that one,." as he finds the right bait from his tackle box.
There are many baits fish use to catch a fisherman, but the fisherman must beware that the bait isn't tainted. Some fish have been hurt before and appear to be what they're not! Be careful of beautiful fish whose flaws are on the underside.
I never covered the fisherman example four. This fisherman becomes a gatherer without regard to quality nor quantity. He doesn't care what bait is used nor whether he fools the fish with a huge net. He brags on the beauty of some and the quantity he caught, but he has no love for the fish. He just enjoys the catch and it doesn't matter by what means! Many old fisherman use for bait, large quantities of dough. Most of the fish don't care whether the fisherman is genuine or not; it's the dough they want!
In order to beguile this type of fisherman, some fish put on airs. They swing that dorsel and wave those fins to tease the eye of the fisherman. They don't care whether they're caught or not, they merely want to tantalize the fisherman! They swim in deceptive waters. Thinking the water is shallow, the unequipped fisherman steps into deep murky waters and falls. The tantalizing fish are entertained. They know how much the fisherman wants them, but they can't be had! Those fish are hybrids: half Bathshebas and half Jezebels. Rahab may have taught them how to bait the fisherman!
Method 1 of fishing is friendship. Friends merely enjoy the "water" together. There is no intent on "catching' or being "caught". Most often friends are of the same gender. Less often there are cross gender friendships. Many romances evolve from friendships. Hence, when one stands back and merely throws out charm, that charm may in time be the bait. You don't put it on the hook, but the fish lunges out of the water and takes the bait, even when the fisherman is merely enjoying the fish! This type of romance often results in godly marriages because it's based on friendships rather than lust.
Method 2 of fishing is enjoying each others company both realizing that one isn't the right fish and the other is the wrong fisherman. The fisherman actually baits the hook, but most often hopes he doesn't catch. He's not yet ready to prepare the fish, but merely brag on the catch. These are men who use the woman until the right one comes along. Many people, both men and women, use bait with little intention of catching, and if they do catch, they have no plans to keep. These men and women show little or no commitment because they aren't ready to be in the frying pan with anyone!
On some occasions, this type of fishing results in the fish and the man being in the frying pan. It's not a planned meal, but it just happens! This method of fishing is the most stressful and most often the fire dies before the fish is fried. The fisherman dumps out the ill-prepared fish or either the fish slithers out of the pan!
Method 3 is fishing for keeps. The fisherman is selective and uses real genuine God-grown bait. Non-hybrid fish are what he seeks and the pure-blood fish is what she seems to be. There are no pretenses and as the fisherman knows for what he fishes, the fish understands the desire and intentions of the fisherman. This fish is wowed that the fisherman wants her, and the fisherman is wowed by the fish taking the bait. Rather than the frying pan, the fisherman preserves the fish so it remains ample, pure and unspoiled. He cherishes that fish and prepares it well and relishes it! This type of fishing method is Holy Matrimony because the fish ad fisherman are committed to each other and realize that it was God's pond where the fish and fisherman became one!
Method 4 of fishing is using the devil's bait. The net the fisherman uses is no more than a trap and the fish swam right into it. The fisherman used the fish, but when he was through, he merely discarded most of them. He may keep one or two of the prettier ones, but usually the most beautiful fish is what's tainted throughout. This fish has a foul smell when pulled from the water. It can be used to impress other fisherman, even made into a trophy, but such fish may be poisoned by Mercurial waters. The poisoned fisherman gets what he deserves!
Some of these fisherman already have a fish. He may have found one that was as beautiful on the inside as the sun beaming on it's rainbow skin. This fish may be too good for such a dirty fisherman, but she remains loyal anyway. She's a fresh water fish, but lives in salt water, so to speak.
While she's spawning or merely swimming in distant waters, the fisherman may go out to fish again. This time it's the fisherman who has the stench and the fish just acclimates to putrid water. This type of fishing is described :
Proverbs 6:24-29 (ESV) "To preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts down a precious life."The woman is the fish. Her bait is suavity, beauty, and her provocativeness. This fish uses her female wiles to entrap the fisherman in those murky waters. It's the flutter of lashes which mesmerizes the fisherman! If he's caught by her, then he drowns in those deep cold waters. It would have been better if he had submitted to the fish in turbulent waters, He would have stumbled but not have drowned! The bait for that is cheap too! The gullible fisherman lured by the beautiful fish does so at his own peril!
If method 3 of fishing is used, it has the best results:
1 Corinthians 7:1-40 (ESV) "Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. .."The genuine fisherman who uses true bait to lure his fish would be tempted by not only beauty, but goodness. It's that relationship between fish and fisherman that makes them one. God provided the waters for the pond. The water is holy and in fishing and being fished, the intent is to end up together. When the fisherman catches that special fish, his eye is on what he caught. He no longer goes down to the waters fishing for better fish because the one he has is his pride. They savor each other and love even the fishy odor sometimes on the fish and at others on the fisherman.
God made the fish for the fisherman because he knew that the fisherman has the instinct to fish! Fishing is God's plan and if fishermen are patient and wait, God will guide the right fish to swim right to the bait. The best bait to catch the ideal fish is truth, charity, genuineness, self-control, motivation and friendship all bound together in a ball of love! Got fish? I do!
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