Spinning a deadly web |
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 1:13b-15
The spider looked innocent enough, just like all the others I’d
allowed inside my home, until it jumped on my husband’s arm and bit him.
I laughingly refer to my approach toward spiders as my amnesty
program. As long as the spiders behave, they can come inside unharmed. My
goodwill doesn’t extend to deadly spiders like black widows or brown recluses.
However, at that point, my husband didn’t see the humor in being bitten by a
harmless spider or my amnesty program.
The previous autumn, I’d allowed a rather large spider to come
under the door every night and run around. By morning he’d be gone. Each night,
this repeated itself until the spider climbed over the couch and landed on my
husband’s lap while he watched television. He wasn’t amused by this episode
either.
I began to see the parallels between allowing the spiders free
run of my home and sin. The spiders spin their webs. I sweep them down and
within a week, they’re back. I justify it by not allowing in deadly spiders.
What harm can come of that?
The Bible instructs us to flee from sin, yet we allow it to
creep into our lives and then routinely sweep out the debris without fully eradicating
the sin. We comfort ourselves with the knowledge that we don’t commit deadly
sins like murder or stealing, but the end result is the same. When we least
expect it, the regular garden-variety sin has bitten us and left a mark on our
lives.
What sin are you struggling to rid your life of today? Perhaps
it’s a small sin you routinely wrestle with, and it’s dragging you down because
you won’t get rid of it once and for all. Ask God to help you identify the
areas of your life that need cleaning up.
Our worship song today is "My Redeemer Lives," which has rapidly become one of my all-time favorite contemporary Christian songs. I hope you're as blessed by it as I am.
Do you have a prayer need? I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment or e-mail me confidential requests. While you’re here, would you take a moment to pray for those on the prayer list and those who leave comments today? Thanks!
God bless,
Laura
✞
©Laura Hodges Poole
This
devotion was originally published by Christian Devotions in 2012.
Laura please know the Lord truly uses you. The Lord has been dealing with me about this very subject. Thank you for the encouragement through your writing.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Betty. I'm glad you were encouraged through my writing. God bless you.
DeleteGreat analogy, Laura. But I must admit I am surprised by your kindness toward spiders. I have no amnesty program in my home : )
ReplyDeleteSpiders are not welcome. Unfortunately, I think I do allow some sin as you mention even though my spiritual home is far more important than my physical one. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and linking up to T.G.I.F.
Thanks, Gail. Most people, especially women, don't like spiders. They've never really bothered me. I guess I've always been a little amazed at the handiwork in their webs. I'm glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for including me on your link-up.
DeleteSo true, Laura -- if we let sin take a foothold, we will be overcome before we even realize what bit us! Praise God that He will daily cleanse s from our sins if we ask for forgiveness and repent.
ReplyDeleteGod bless,
Laurie
Thanks for stopping by, Laurie. I'm glad you enjoyed the post. God bless you, too.
DeleteI absolutely love this - have shared it everywhere. What a great way of looking at sin.
ReplyDeleteThanks, April. I appreciate you sharing the post. God bless you.
Delete