What may look small can actually pack a big punch. This ant may look small but can actually lift up to 100 times it's weight and like sin that looks harmless it can hurt much more than we initially bargained for.
The thing about sin is oftentimes you don't feel the pain from it until after the sin has been committed. A good example of sin waiting until after you commit it to show its ugly consequences is a sugar ant bite.
The first bite you generally don't feel. 9 times out of 10 you don't even know you got bit until it starts itching. Than over the next couple of days the infected area starts to fester and creates a pustule, that if popped, will release the toxins from the ant bite. Until that time though, the ant bite causes discomfort to you.
Much like sin. Let's say you get upset with someone and decide to tell them off. Feels good doesn't it? Until the buzz wears off of course. Once that happens you get a sudden since of guilt that leaves you wishing you could turn back time. You may be going over everything you said and thinking of how you could have said it better. Maybe, hopefully, wrestling with the want to apologize and talk things out with that particular person. This can go on for days, even a lifetime if you let it. But if you go and talk it out with that friend than you allow that issue to be released and move on.
Some of us though, take many beatings from ourselves before we see right.
When I was in high school I was walking to class. Taking my time of course to get there. I stopped to look around and had no idea I was standing in an ant bed. Here in Texas we call these little red guys Texas fire ants. They are huge and they hurt. The pain is known to travel up the leg or arm, depending on where bit, and burning the whole way up there. For whatever reason though, I didn't feel one bite. I had no idea I was standing in an ant bed. It wasn't until I began to move that I felt them. As I tried to get them all off of my foot it had already swelled 3 times it's size. I had to leave school for the rest of the day. The swelling went down by the next day but I was left with bite marks all over my foot and that took about 2 weeks to fully heal. I still have a couple scars.
Sometimes we tend to think we are fine skirting the fence of right and wrong. We believe we can quit doing something that is wrong whenever we want and it won't affect us at all. ...until we fall over and get roughed up a bit. We skip and we skip along in and out of sin not seeing any negative results and think we are good. What fixing one mess up, like arguing with a friend because of a sharp tongue and egotistic pride, could become alienating everyone we love from our lives.
Sin needs to be handled immediately and never lessened in any way. Sin, even sin we see as nothing more than little child's play can become so monstrous we don't recognize where it came from and when it gobbles us up and spits us out we are left with scars only Jesus can heal.
Turn to God today to help identify where your sins lie.
A convicting nail in your side now is more confortable than sin that will kill you later.
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