Little Problems
Today’s devotional was written by my son, Clark Wrather, who is the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Broken Bow, Oklahoma. The Scripture and title have been added.
Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. – James 1:12-15.
A few weeks ago, the low-coolant warning light came on in my car. I took it to a shop and was assured that nothing was wrong. The light had just turned itself on for no reason. The light irritated me, but I could live with it over the next four weeks.
After picking Madison up from school one day, my car leaked all over the place after it was parked. I took it back to the shop and they examined it again and found the problem. A $12 hose had a hole in it. They fixed it for me and when I got home, I noticed the coolant warning light was no longer glowing. I was a bit alarmed. What if the warning light was on for a reason over the last four weeks? What if the car had been running hot and the temperature gage was not working?
I checked the oil and it looked funny. Back to the shop we went and found out that it had a blown head gasket. Now instead of a few dollars, that $12 hose was going to end up costing me over $600. Needless to say, I went to another mechanic.
Our sins seem to snowball on us, much like my car problems. Problems start small and when we ignore them, they get much bigger and more expensive. The alcoholic had a first drink. The drug-user had a first time use. The adulterer crossed that first line somewhere. The malicious person was mean for a first time. The thief had to first feel envy. Some of us (like me) had to eat too much for a first time.
The point here is to pay attention to those warnings when you first receive them. Then, your sins will not grow into expensive problems.
(Little sins, like little problems often grow into larger things.)