We are more than halfway through spring and for those who love fishing, the warmer weather has drawn you to ponds and lakes with the hopes of wetting some worms and making a big catch. In honor of the fishermen, let’s open a can of worms together.
This idiom is only about 73 years old and was first seen in a Michigan daily newspaper. Its usage was quite literal, though. Today, you might go to a bait shop and get a plastic or Styrofoam container full of nightcrawlers. This wasn’t available in the 1950s. Instead, metal cans with handles and lids were used for the live bait.
Live bait on the hook wriggles, attracting the bass, trout, walleye, or whatever else you want to catch. The problem, though, is that live bait also wriggles out of the can if the lid isn’t quickly and securely fastened. Therefore, opening a can of worms means all the worms can get out rather than keeping them in.
I’ve done this before with the plastic containers. I wasn’t thinking and left the lid off the container. When I went back to get another worm, most had escaped faster than a prisoner from a jail break and couldn’t be found. Getting them back into the container was an impossibility.
When we say that someone is opening a can of worms, it is doubtful we are talking about actual worms. “Metaphorically speaking, to open a can of worms is to examine or attempt to solve some problem, only to inadvertently complicate it and create even more trouble.”1 Spiritually speaking, people are opening a can of worms all the time.
Romans 4:1-4 asks, “What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? (2) For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. (3) For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. (4) Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.”
Remember the definition of the idiom? To open a can of worms means “to examine
or attempt to solve some problem, only to inadvertently complicate it and create even more trouble.” Humanity has a sin problem. They have a relationship problem with God. To solve the problem, people will try to be ultra-religious, attending church regularly, and following the “sacraments” of the church including membership. Others will try to follow the Golden Rule, being on their best behavior especially with their fellow man. Some will consciously and conscientiously try to do lots of good deeds, being philanthropic and charitable.
According to Romans, their attempts at solving the problem have inadvertently complicated it and created even more trouble. The reward is greater debt, not greater grace.
If you’ve opened a spiritual can of worms, there is only one solution. Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. If it worked for Abraham, it will certainly work for you. Romans 10:9-10 reminds us, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God 
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Close that can of worms today.
1https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/31039/how-did-term-open-can-worms-originate
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