When we moved to Apple Valley, our neighbor Eric told us that we had some Creeping Charlie edging into our yard from another yard. "Put some vinegar on it," he said, " or it will be all over your yard." Well, there was school to do, jeans to wash, floors to mop, visits to make, hair to braid and granola to bake. And the Creeping Charlie crept quietly into the yard, inch by inch. This spring a fine network of roots supported lush, generous, stubborn patches of the weed. It has taken over half of the garden, and I despair of planting anything.
So is the potency and subtly of sin. We excuse little sins, not realizing they are the nose of the camel in the door of the tent. All sin is vile and against our good. The Banner of Truth Trust has published a pocket booklet called Impure Lust by John Flavel (a puritan). One of the directions Flavel gives for staying out of the pit of impure lust is to eat moderately. What? Yes. "Fullness of bread and idleness were the sins of Sodom that occasioned such an exuberancy of lust. 'They are like fed horses, every one neighing after his neighbour's wife. When I fed them to the full, then they committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses.' (Jer.5:7-8)
Let's not fool ourselves into thinking that some sin is of no consequence. I thought that of a few shoots of Creeping Charlie. And I often think that of overeating. May God give us repentance and grace to choose to suffer rather than sin.
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