Poison

[dddoo7]

There are many things in life that are typically considered “unhealthy”. Most people consider cigarettes and tobacco as something that “will kill you”. While tobacco is considered to be something that will kill you, poisons are usually in an entirely different category in most people’s mind. I believe this is the case because of the more immediate danger that poison imposes on a body. Many poisons will not always kill on the first dose, but instead will cause a violent reaction that can have permanently lasting effects. Other poisons can stay in the body for hours and sometimes even days before their lethal effect becomes realized. Yet other poisons are extremely lethal even in the smallest dose. A minimum lethal dose of botulism bacillus is 0.00003 micrograms per kilogram of body weight. This is on par with a flea derailing a 100 mile long freight train. Regardless of the time frame in which poison works, most people do not want poison in their system even in the smallest dose.

Sin is a poison that is beyond lethal for our soul. Sin is a poison that even in the smallest dose will lead to spiritual death. Sin is often not considered dangerous because the cost of sin is not fully and immediately realized. Spiritual death is often not seen or realized on the outside, but rather is something that happens without one even fully understanding what is happening. How much sin leads to death? How much sin is enough poison to lead us to spiritual death? Romans 6:23 says, “the wages of sin is death;”. He does not quantify sin or list specific sins that lead to death, but rather the wages of sin is death.

How much hatred does it take to poison our soul? People sometimes mistreat us, abuse us, and are wrong in the way that interact with us, but should that lead to us hating them? Jesus commanded for us to love our enemies…not hate them (Matthew 5:44). Hatred towards others is one of those things that poisons our soul.

How much deceit does it take to poison our soul? Jesus tells us that Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44) and we know that lying is wrong. Lying is typically frowned on in almost every society, yet in other aspects lying and deceit are expected. How much deceit does it take to poison our soul? Lying and deceit are used to try and steer someone away from truth and towards something that is not entirely true. Should we not always be steering others towards truth?

How much improper judgment does it take to poison our soul? There are many times when certain situations can look bad. There are times when we believe we know someone’s intent or what their motives were when certain actions were taken. It is not our place to determine motives. There are many times when we don’t know the entire story and thankfully it is not our responsibility to bring judgment upon others. How much improper judgement does it take to poison our soul (Matthew 7:1-5).

This list can go on and on. How much gossip does it take to poison our heart? How much evil speaking? How much worry? How much complacency or apathy? How much laziness? How much pride? This is something that we need to consider in our own lives every single day. We need to be able to look at our heart and determine whether our heart is correct (2 Corinthians 13:5). A little leaven leavens the lump. A little sin will poison the heart. The wages of sin is death. The gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Let us strive for perfection, yet realizing that we are not perfect, let us be continually thankful for the redeeming power of the blood of Christ. Let us grow in our faith; Grow in our hope; Grow in our willingness to shape our lives to His will. Let us realize sin for the poison it is and seek to rid it from our lives.