THE WORMS ARE BITING - A follow-on from my discussion on compromise.

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A workman on a construction crew, each morning as he drove to work, waved and spoke to a young boy at a fishing spot. One day, when he asked if the fish were biting, he received a strange reply: “The FISH aren’t biting, but the WORMS sure are!” When he pulled in for petrol a little later, he jokingly told the attendant about the boy’s strange reply. The man laughed briefly, but suddenly a look of horror crossed his face and he dashed to his truck and raced off. He was the boy’s father. Sadly, he arrived too late: the boy was dead. Somehow, the boy had mistaken a nest of baby rattle snakes for worms. Unknown to many, baby rattle snakes are born with their full venom. This is a sad but true story to illustrate a point. Things that so often SEEM harmless are full of poison. What about the “white” lies? and the “little fibs”? And how many more do they lead to? Someone is usually hurt by them! What about the little bit of “harmless” gossip we listen to and pass on? Gossip can be deadly. It can assassinate a person’s character. What about the harsh words and temper tantrums we have and then ignore the hurt we have caused by them? What about a little “harmless flirtation” which gets out of hand and leads to marital problems? The list could go on and on and on. OK I’m going to use Christian terms because I am a Christian and I believe the Bible to be the very Word of God, but whether or not you agree on the basis of my Christian belief, I am sure you will accept the logic of the above illustration I have given. Nowhere in the Bible is sin categorised into big sins and little sins, or mortal sins and venial sins. In the Bible, sin is sin: full stop, period, end of story. Jesus classed being angry with someone as equivalent to murder. He classed a lustful look as equivalent to adultery. Just as the “worms” in this sad illustration were biting, so will sin and sin will reap its rewards. I can already hear some say that they like the rewards brought by sin, but as one who has been there and done that, I can tell you those rewards will never fully satisfy. That is why there is a continual seeking for something more. I lived that life, but for the last 51 of my 73 years I have found the complete and lasting satisfaction of a life surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ, my sin Bearer, my Saviour. Do you agree that "from little things, big things grow"? Do you agree that so-called "little" sins (wrongs) can do as much harm as bigger ones? Are "white lies" ever justified?