Destructive Nature of Sin
James
1:14-16 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own
lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin:
and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my
beloved brethren.
Paul Harvey tells the story of how an Eskimo
kills a wolf that offers insight into the consuming, self-destructive
nature of sin.
"First, the Eskimo coats his knife blade with
animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then he adds another layer of
blood, and another, until the blade is completely concealed by frozen
blood. "Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade
up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent
and discovers the bait, he licks it, tasting the fresh frozen blood. He
begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until
the keen edge is bare. Feverishly now, harder and harder the wolf licks
the blade in the arctic night. So great becomes his craving for blood
that the wolf does not notice the razor-sharp sting of the naked blade
on his own tongue, nor does he recognize the instant at which his
insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his OWN warm blood. His
carnivorous appetite just craves more--until the dawn finds him dead in
the snow."
I've heard this example before and I completely agree with it. Sin is and will always (at least until Jesus comes back) look appetizing but will conceal within it death. In the example the wolf licks the knife and soon cannot differentiate between the blood on the knife and its own blood. Sin is exactly the same way. We continue in it until we can't see the difference between right and wrong and we don't even notice that we're slowly and destroying ourselves. This is an amazing example to use to describe this process.
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