It was a very small thing when the cow of Mrs. O'Leary kicked over that little kerosene lamp, but it started a fire that in forty-eight hours had swept over a strip of Chicago four miles long and one mile wide, destroyed 17,450 homes and millions of dollars' worth of property, and left multiplied thousands of people homeless. The Apostle James says, "Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!" See Jas. 3:5, and that will give you some light on the fearfulness of the Chicago disaster.
The first wrong act of your life may seem to you to be a very small thing, but, beloved, it may cost you your soul; and others may be influenced by your act and so it may mean their destruction also.
We next notice that the moth works noiselessly and secretly. If it came into our house with some great demonstration, or would herald its approach by the bugle sound, we might be on our guard. But instead it steals in secretly and unperceived and proceeds with its destructive work. It is even so with sin. What an awful destruction it has worked in a secret way!
I read a little story one day of some shepherds who were watching their flocks and they discovered an eagle and watched it soar from the crag. It flew majestically far up into the sky, but by and by it became unsteady in its motions and began to waver in its flight. At length one wing drooped and then the other. The poor bird struggled vainly for a moment and then fell swiftly to the ground. The shepherds sought the fallen bird to see what was the cause of that fearful fall from such heights in the blue sky and, behold, they found a little serpent had fastened itself upon this eagle while it rested upon the crag. The eagle did not know the serpent was there, but the dangerous little reptile had fastened himself upon that game bird, and gnawed through the feathers; and while the proud monarch was sweeping through the air, the serpent's fangs were thrust into the flesh, and the eagle came reeling down into the dust.
This illustrates the story of many human lives. How many of the most brilliant minds we have seen start out with such splendid promise and it seemed they were going to soar to the heights of fame and honor;but they would finally begin to stagger and reel and fight and struggle, and eagle-like they would finally fall! The fact is, some secret sin, like the little moth, had crept in almost unaware, eating its way to the heart, and at last the proud life lies soiled and dishonored in the dust. We need to be ever on the watch against these treacherous and insidious perils; these little secret sins which, unperceived, work death to the soul.
We next notice that the moth works from the inside out. It will creep in among the woolen garments and there will lay its eggs, which after a little while will hatch out. Then the little worms are there in the warp and woof of the cloth and they feed upon its fiber. Or to make it still plainer, they draw their life from the life of the cloth, and in a short time there is no life left in the cloth; it lies before you now, a moth-eaten garment. How much like the hidden sin in the heart and life of man! It is not long until this little worm changes into the regular moth, but by the time it becomes a chrysalis and then emerges into the full-grown moth, the garment is completely spoiled and wrecked and useless to man.
What a life-size picture of sin is this! As truly as the moth will destroythe beautiful garment, so sin will destroy the most beautiful life; and sin, like the moth, begins on the inside and works toward the outside. Sin can do no harm until it finds a lodging in the heart. Now you will remember the words of Jesus and St. Paul when they both spoke of that deadly thing we call sin. Jesus said, "For ... out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts" (Mark7:21).
And then He gave that fearful picture in the seventh chapter of St. Mark's Gospel. But all of those fearful things that He spoke of He says are just the outcroppings of sin in the inward life. If you will let sin get once lodged in the heart, it will eat its way to the outward life.
Did you ever think that Satan could do nothing with our first parents until he gained access to
their hearts by means of an outward sin? Once the hearts were entered, disobedience soon followed. Seeing therefore how important it is to guard this little channel to the heart, the wise man said, "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life" (Prov.4:23). He also said in Prov. 23:7, "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he."
Robinson, Reuben A. (Bud). The Collected Works of 'Uncle Bud' Robinson. Jawbone Digital. Kindle Edition.
The first wrong act of your life may seem to you to be a very small thing, but, beloved, it may cost you your soul; and others may be influenced by your act and so it may mean their destruction also.
We next notice that the moth works noiselessly and secretly. If it came into our house with some great demonstration, or would herald its approach by the bugle sound, we might be on our guard. But instead it steals in secretly and unperceived and proceeds with its destructive work. It is even so with sin. What an awful destruction it has worked in a secret way!
I read a little story one day of some shepherds who were watching their flocks and they discovered an eagle and watched it soar from the crag. It flew majestically far up into the sky, but by and by it became unsteady in its motions and began to waver in its flight. At length one wing drooped and then the other. The poor bird struggled vainly for a moment and then fell swiftly to the ground. The shepherds sought the fallen bird to see what was the cause of that fearful fall from such heights in the blue sky and, behold, they found a little serpent had fastened itself upon this eagle while it rested upon the crag. The eagle did not know the serpent was there, but the dangerous little reptile had fastened himself upon that game bird, and gnawed through the feathers; and while the proud monarch was sweeping through the air, the serpent's fangs were thrust into the flesh, and the eagle came reeling down into the dust.
This illustrates the story of many human lives. How many of the most brilliant minds we have seen start out with such splendid promise and it seemed they were going to soar to the heights of fame and honor;but they would finally begin to stagger and reel and fight and struggle, and eagle-like they would finally fall! The fact is, some secret sin, like the little moth, had crept in almost unaware, eating its way to the heart, and at last the proud life lies soiled and dishonored in the dust. We need to be ever on the watch against these treacherous and insidious perils; these little secret sins which, unperceived, work death to the soul.
We next notice that the moth works from the inside out. It will creep in among the woolen garments and there will lay its eggs, which after a little while will hatch out. Then the little worms are there in the warp and woof of the cloth and they feed upon its fiber. Or to make it still plainer, they draw their life from the life of the cloth, and in a short time there is no life left in the cloth; it lies before you now, a moth-eaten garment. How much like the hidden sin in the heart and life of man! It is not long until this little worm changes into the regular moth, but by the time it becomes a chrysalis and then emerges into the full-grown moth, the garment is completely spoiled and wrecked and useless to man.
What a life-size picture of sin is this! As truly as the moth will destroythe beautiful garment, so sin will destroy the most beautiful life; and sin, like the moth, begins on the inside and works toward the outside. Sin can do no harm until it finds a lodging in the heart. Now you will remember the words of Jesus and St. Paul when they both spoke of that deadly thing we call sin. Jesus said, "For ... out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts" (Mark7:21).
And then He gave that fearful picture in the seventh chapter of St. Mark's Gospel. But all of those fearful things that He spoke of He says are just the outcroppings of sin in the inward life. If you will let sin get once lodged in the heart, it will eat its way to the outward life.
Did you ever think that Satan could do nothing with our first parents until he gained access to
their hearts by means of an outward sin? Once the hearts were entered, disobedience soon followed. Seeing therefore how important it is to guard this little channel to the heart, the wise man said, "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life" (Prov.4:23). He also said in Prov. 23:7, "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he."
Robinson, Reuben A. (Bud). The Collected Works of 'Uncle Bud' Robinson. Jawbone Digital. Kindle Edition.
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