watch those spills!

March 11, 2003

have you ever spilt water or any kind of liquid before? the next time that you do, watch what happens! the liquid will move from one area of the surface that it's been spilt on and spread out rather quickly to occupy more of the surface. it's kind of a neat phenomenon. well, i accidentally spilt a bit of water today when i was trying to clean up the sink and i noticed this interesting occurrence.

if we're not careful with our actions or thoughts in all circumstances, sin can have a similar effect in our lives. it could start simply as one lie to a friend. sooner or later, it's two lies, then four lies, and the process continues until we are caught in heavy deceit and who knows what else. more often than not, we are unaware of this consuming power that sin has in our lives until it's too late. by the time we notice, that "little" sin has come full circle and bloomed into an all consuming force that we cannot control. we're fortunate, however. there is no sin that is so big that we cannot overcome it - God conquered satan on the Cross and so nothing is impossible. :) but you do not want to be dealing with sin when it's become such an overbearing force. what ideally should happen, is once you spot any kind of sin in your life, you should "nip it in the bud" so to speak. you deal it with it right away - don't let it get away from you; don't let it spread any further.

the best way to deal with a spill is to get rid of immediately. that way, the spill is concentrated in one area. if you wait too long, the spill would have spread out over a larger surface area, and it would take more effort to clean it up. it's the same with sin. "When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." (james 1:13-15 [NIV]) let's make sure we don't allow sin to become full-grown in our lives by running to the foot of the Cross whenever we stumble and fall. He'll always be there to pick us back up! :)