APRIL 22, Proverbs 4:14, 5

As Colin dangled his fishing line into the pond, he watched two frogs that seemed to be fighting over a place to sit on a nearby log. Colin laughed as both frogs fell into the water and began swimming and splashing as though playing a game.

A moment later, a large snake slithered onto the log. It lay very still, and Colin thought it wanted to sleep in the sun.The frogs swimming nearby also noticed the snake and moved quickly away. But then, they came back, and little by little, they got closer again. Maybe they’re checking to see if that snake is really sleeping, thought Colin. The snake seemed to pay no attention to them, and gradually the frogs came so close that they were within its reach. Colin felt frozen to the spot as the snake suddenly came to life and grabbed the nearest frog. That foolish frog was soon swallowed, and the other one swam away quickly. Colin ran home to tell his parents what he had seen.

The next day, Colin came home from school with news. “Remember Brian? The kid I used to play with sometimes?” he asked. “He’s always getting into trouble lately. Today he got caught taking money from a teacher’s desk, and now he’s suspended from school!” Colin shook his head. “I don’t know how he got so messed up.”

Dad put his arm around Colin’s shoulders. “Remember the frogs and the snake?” he asked. “You said the frogs noticed the snake and swam away. So why did one get caught?”

“Well, they swam away, but then they came back. It didn’t seem like the snake was going to hurt them,” replied Colin. “But then they just got too close.”

Dad nodded. “The devil likes to ‘catch’ us that way,” he said. “First we might be shocked at a wrong thing someone does. Then we get used to it and think it’s not so bad. It goes on and on from there until we even do it ourselves.”

“So that’s probably what happened to Brian,” he said thoughtfully. Dad nodded. “We all need to guard against getting used to what we call ‘little’ sins. We should never see how close we can get to sin without being hurt by it. Instead, we need to quickly turn away from it.”

Thought: Do you also have “little sins”?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me stay away from sin. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.