Blue Moon Devotionals

I have this feeder attached to the railing of our deck to attract the birds that go by the binomial name Archilochus (genus) Colubris (species) of the family Trochilidae (Grk., trochilos, meaning small bird, in this case, the smallest of birds). I do not think it would go over too well if I told my wife, “Look, Beverly! There is an Archilochus colubris at the feeder!”

Now, if I alerted her to the fact that there was a Ruby-throated hummingbird at the feeder, it would be as right as rain and avoid her comment toward me of being a nerd! These dinky birds (~3.5 inches or ~9 centimeters in length, measured from tip of beak to tip of tail) and weighing less than an ounce or 7 grams (a penny weighs 2.5 grams) are very common east of the Mississippi River during the summer breeding months; then in early fall, they migrate to Central America. The males have a ruby-colored throat while the female’s throat is white.

Both sexes share a white chest and belly with a green iridescent-looking head, back, sides, wings, and tail. Females (2.8 - 4.5 grams) typically weigh more than males (2.4 - 3.6 grams). I love the hummer’s chirping noises (mouse-like squeaks) and the humming sound produced by their wings (flapping anywhere from 50-200 times per second with a heartbeat up to 1200 bpm and breathing up to 250 breaths per minute.

From a side view, our hummingbird feeder looks like a saucer-like spaceship; it holds a cup of sugar water which is comprised of 8 fluid ounces (1 cup) of freshwater, plus 2 dry ounces (technically, rounding up 1.6 ounces) of granulated pure cane sugar to 2 ounces or 1/4 cup to simplify production. The sugar water dilution is a ratio of 4:1. Since their beak is around 15-20 mm in length and their brushy-tipped tongues, roughly double the length of the beak, and with its forked tongue with little hairs all over that soak up the nectar through capillary action (much like a paper towel soaking up water) by extending and contracting its tongue up to 13 times per second.

There are four flower ports and three perches on our feeder. Since installing this feeder, we can observe more closely their aerial abilities. They hover, fly forward, backward, sideways, on their side, and even upside down! No other species can do what hummers can do. They are very territorial with their nectar sources; so, we see an assortment of aggressive aerial skills surrounding the sugar-watering hole!

They have the heart for it because to some extent they have the largest heart of all animals for their size: 2.5% of their less than an ounce body weight. 4.2% of its body weight is the brain, making it the largest proportion in the avian kingdom. 30% of its weight consists of flight muscles. For their size, they certainly can boogie, flying over 30 mph or 90 feet per second!

Normally, I will change out the sugar water about every three days due to the heat. I haven’t measured the unused sugar water after three days, but generally, the majority is not consumed though a hummingbird may eat twice its body weight daily while feeding every 10 minutes or so, which is naturally burned up with its flight characteristics: rapid wing beat and energetic movements.

With four or more hummers visiting the feeder, you would think that they would consume more sugar water, but this is not their only food source: flower nectar, tree sap, pollen, and insects, for example. For me, it is easier to make a cup of sugar water that makes a smaller measured amount and less waste.

When I change out the sugar water, I pour the unused portion over the deck railing onto the ground below. I can’t help but think of the waste created by these tiny birds who spend their time protecting or attempting to tap into something that cannot be used up before it goes bad. Supply is far exceeding the demand for it! Ironically, there is plenty for all if they would all get along.

So, one dominant Ruby-throated hummingbird stakes its claim and defends it to the hilt from the others, or there is a new leader of the feeder based on might-makes-right. Naturally, they are not hardwired to understand that. Perhaps they treat it as any other tubular flower that has a limited capacity of nectar? My understanding is they cover a lot of ground for nectar. There are always plenty of insects available for protein.

After my nth time changing out the sugar water, it finally dawned on me about a spiritual reality in our own lives that is similar to the nature of the hummers. We can all relate to a time when God had provided a blessing to us, and rather than share this blessing with others, there was a tendency to hang on to it and become overly protective of it and unwilling to share it with others. Whenever we allow for this to happen, we are turning inward rather than outward, making it all about us because we think we are the only ones deserving of this blessing, and unwilling to share for whatever reason.

But what if God wanted to show His sufficiency to others through us as He

often does? How is that going to work out if we are in an egocentric or entitlement mode that has a tendency to horde rather than help out? The truth is when God blesses us (positive), He desires for us to be a blessing (positive) to others. This makes sense by looking from a negative perspective; God allows things into our lives (negative) so we can be supportive to other believers in need of help and understanding in the way God comforted us when we had gone through the same thing (2 Cor 1:4), a positive thing, yes? Sadly, this doesn’t happen like it should for reasons beyond the scope of this article.

If we are making the blessings of God all about the “me,” how does God work through us to show forth His sufficiency and blessing in the lives of others? We are not talking about the natural thing to do of guarding the Feeder of blessing with a survival of the fittest mentality! No, we are referring to the supernatural thing to do here. God has blessed us; therefore, we need to be a blessing to others in return.

I think that our generosity is negatively impacted because we are not experiencing the sufficiency of God in our lives due to our disobedience to His Word. We may have ample supply, but we are more concerned about putting our supply at risk. We become like these hummingbirds at our feeder that found this bonanza of nectar to meet their nectar needs and are oblivious to the fact that what I was dumping out far exceeded the rate of consumption multiplied several times. If they shared in harmony, there was enough sugar water for all to have their nectar needs met rather than wasting energy being chased away or making futile attempts to tap into the sugar water.

In our insecurity and lack of confidence in God, we take to the air, flying on our self-effort rather than placing our trust in Yahweh! This resembles our way of life before being born again, yes? When it's all said and done, our selfish considerations create unnecessary waste that could have been used as a blessing to others instead of going sour and discarded. Did we forget about Php 4:19? “Oh, yeah! We forgot about that verse!”

The traits of stinginess and fear do not nurture being a blessing to others. Being a blessing is sourced in the 2^nd command which is sourced in the 1^st command (cf. Mk 12:30-31). There is a paradoxical truth found in Scripture that to get we have to give away (cf. Deut 15:10; Prov 3:9-10; 11:24-25 Acts 20:35; 1 Cor 13:3; 2 Cor 9:6-8); it tempers the love of money (1 Tim 6:10). I love what Jim Eliot (a martyr for Jesus Christ, 10/8/1927 to 1/8/1956) once said,

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

Naturally, hummingbirds do not know any better, but we do. A hummer will spend a great deal of energy chasing off other hummers, only to lose the vast majority of its treasure trove of nectar (sugar water) at hummingbird feeders to an environmentally determined shelf-life. Fortunately for the hummingbirds around my home, I will replace the bad with better twice a week. So, let’s call this spiritual malady of receiving a blessing from God and failing to pass it on in some way to others as the “Hummingbird Effect.”

We know we are “hummering” when we prevent others from being blessed by the same blessings God has blessed us with. We should never think we have a patent on a blessing because of our faith, abilities, or efforts. God wants to bless us and to be a blessing to others through us, but we can’t do that if we are acting like hummingbirds. The only restraint I would suggest is to keep in mind that need does not constitute a calling to do this or that. The world of the lost and the world of the saved are in perpetual need. This is where prayer and being in the will of God in the matter comes into play. There are far more takers in the world than grace-givers.

Hummingbirds have a natural, innate impulse; they do what they are designed to do. We, on the other hand, have the capacity of choice. God wants us as believers to operate in the supernatural realm, being directed by the Holy Spirit to be a blessing to others rather than being moved by a natural, fleshly impulse that is secular in nature. For us to be blessed by God and to be a blessing to others, we must remain obedient to His Word for His glory and quit acting like hummers. <><

B2B = Blessed to bless