Little Foxes
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a painful lesson.
Welcome to “Joni and Friends” where not all the lessons I share are painful, but when I think of how I learned this one? Yep, it was hard, alright. It was painful; but it was a little funny. You see, years ago, after I got out of the hospital, I lived with my sister Jay in a beautiful farmhouse out in the rolling hills of Maryland. Part of that house was an old log cabin, whose wood dated back to the 1800s. It had been ages since the timbers in our farmhouse had been treated against bugs. And because all these big old logs in our farmhouse were holding up our floors and walls, we really had to watch out for termites.
Now, the first year or two we didn’t pay much attention to termites. We spotted a few. And we considered calling an exterminator, but then decided to compromise and use a can of bug spray. We paid for it the following year. I mean, the termites came back and brought all their second cousins. I will never forget sitting in the living room one spring morning, looking up, and there before me is this swarm of termites flying around the wood frame of our windows. I shrieked; I yelled for my sister Jay to quick, bring the bug spray. But that was like fighting a war with a pea shooter. Oh, sure, we killed some, but then out would come crawling the second battalion of bugs. So we wasted no time; digging deep into our pockets, we dialed the exterminator.
The painful lesson we learned? Compromise in little things will inevitably lead to a greater downfall. It’s what Song of Songs Chapter 2, verse 15 is all about. It says, “Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes.” That’s the Bible’s way of telling us to be on the alert, be on the lookout for those little thoughts; those little actions that can demolish and destroy. Maybe not in a big way at first; but those little thoughts and actions are like little foxes; little critters that sneak in unprotected and rob the smallest but most tender grapes on the vine. Sure, we are usually careful to be on guard against the big “foxes,” the big sins in our lives; but it’s the minor, the incidental sins we tend to trivialize. And what’s the big deal about petite-sized sins? Well, God’s Word warns us that it is the little small sinful habits that stifle small good beginnings. Little sins kill good intentions — intentions that are tender and young, like the new, small grapes on the vine which haven’t had a chance to mature. That’s the fruit that is most susceptible to ruin.
Andrew Bonar once wrote, “It is not the importance of the thing, but the majesty of the Lawgiver that is to be the standard of obedience. Some people might reckon such minute rules as trifling. But the principle is simply this: is the Lord to be obeyed in all things?” Well, today you may be sweeping some so-called little sins under the carpet; hedging on the truth, or with Income Tax Day coming up next week, who knows, maybe you are claiming more deductions than you deserve on your tax forms. Or you could be thinking too much of a co-worker, perhaps someone who is married and you find yourself fantasizing a real soap opera of a daydream. Hey, friend, wake up! The termites are swarming. And although we might think these little thoughts and actions don’t amount to much, they do. They spoil the young and tender parts of your conscience, searing them to bigger sins that loom on the horizon. Compromise on little issues can lead to very big spiritual problems. So today, do not let any little foxes spoil God’s vine in your life.
Previously aired as Program #8072 on 4/9/13.
© Joni and Friends
