Change your pet

This week I had one of those creepy stories told to me. It was of a Boa constrictor, yes those really dangerous snakes that kill by asphyxiation. So anyway, I was trying not to die as my friend explained the details….the said snake was actually a pet living in a house, not in a cage-just roaming free. Ok why would anyone keep a Boa constrictor as a pet, knowing full well that it is not a herbivore?

The snake would sleep curled up in a particular corner of the house daily, minding its own business, but this one day its owner found it on his bed lying stretched out….he did not think much of it and ignored the incidence. The next morning when he awoke, he found the snake on his bed lying next to him…..gasp…..when I think of a snake lying next to me, I think call the padre because this situation needs serious exorcism.  This alarmed him and he finally called the vet who urged him to bring in the snake to put it down. Apparently, the snake’s appetite was growing larger and the reason it slept stretched out next to him was to determine his height and if it was possible to swallow him whole.

Being a true story, I shuddered at the thought of being swallowed in my sleep by my pet. How awkward it would be at the pearly gates explaining to Peter how I went out….and how about this snake that has ill intent and motive towards me, watching me daily and waiting for my most vulnerable time of day? That is just horrific.

But as we continued talking with my friend, he brought up a very significant point that hit home, and sent me reeling inward for self-evaluation. He talked of the snake being secret sin in our lives and how every time we feed sin its appetite grows and grows and the more we feed it one day what we give it will not be enough. One day it will swallow you whole and destroy you. Sometimes we may think that what we are doing has no bearing on eternity. However, just because no one has found you out doesn’t mean that you are safe. In fact I believe that secret sin is worse than sin brought to the light of Christ’s love. It is much better to struggle with sin than give up….for struggling means you have not stopped fighting.

Everyone has that thing that easily besets them. Things that you are not comfortable talking about, things if anyone found out, would reject you, but God has made a provision for your deliverance. Granted, it is harder to break a habit than it is to pick one up, and years of secret sin may take years of breaking mindsets and thought processes but it is worth the fight. Get into the ring and fight for your life, because your soul is at stake. Don’t be callous when you sin, don’t take sin lightly. Just like you would not lie next to that Boa constrictor after finding out its motive, in the same way, get out of the bed, and stop sleeping with the enemy.

It could be your mouth, you just cannot stop slandering and gossiping, it could be your heart, you are angry and hide bitterness and unforgiveness. It could be your mind, and you know that what you watched last night left you empty and feeling worthless. It could be your feet- where you go is causing you to trip. Drop that remote, drop that conversation; drop that bar soap, drop that relationship that does not bring glory to God- don’t be afraid of being different. You were created to stand out so stop trying to fit in. Swim against that current that has swept you in the wrong direction for so long….don’t be afraid of doing it God’s way, it may be hard but it is worth it.

How do you fight sin? One way I have found that works for me is daily surrender. Waking up before God and saying Lord help me, I have no clue how to!! Secondly, reading the word and prayer. Whatever you constantly meditate on becomes what you are. Thirdly the hardest and most essential is telling someone you trust, someone who will not condone the sin and yet will not judge or condemn you. That is hard to find but rewarding.

So what have you been sleeping with? I suggest that it is time for you to find a different pet, one that will not kill you!!!

image from deviantart.com