2007-07-24 - Playing with Fire

Originally Published 2006-01-17

As a kid, I was a bit of a pyromaniac, I guess. I can remember making homemade firecrackers from the powder in shotgun shells. I can remember pouring gas on ant beds and burning it up. I can remember lighting leaves with a magnifying glass. To me, it just seemed like neat things to do; it was fun stuff - you know, just boys being boys. But, I also remember a few times where I got burned. A small fire can get out of hand, spreading quickly with the winds. Before you know it, the fire destroys hundreds of acres and costs thousands in damage, and may even take lives. And yet, people are careless

Sin and evil are a lot like playing with fire. It may seem like fun, but it quickly gets out of hand.

Isaiah 9:18 (KJV) For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.

Isaiah 9:18 (NET) For evil burned like a fire, it consumed thorns and briers; it burned up the thickets of the forest, and they went up in smoke.

Samson knew better than to hang out with an enemy of God's people, but he couldn't resist frolicking with those fun-loving Philistine women. (See Judges 14-16.) His rebellion was a fire that led from one sin to another. Sin's flames destroyed his Nazarite commitment, separated him from God. Its heat blinded him - spiritually and physically. And finally, the fire claimed his life.

David saw Bathsheba out on her rooftop. A little spark of lust ignited a fire of passion that led to adultery, deception, betrayal, and murder. The raging fire consumed and scarred several of his children. (See 2 Samuel 11-12.) The little fire of sin quickly devastated acres of David's life.

Sin, like fire, is not a toy to be played with. Sin will destroy you. Run from it. In the wise words of that old American sage, Smokey the Bear, "Only you can prevent forest fires."

IHFHBOH
Adam

adam@cfdevotionals.org
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