Nip It!

15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. James 1:15

What a unique picture this passage gives us of temptation and sin. Temptation is like the conception, the very beginning of a potentially life destroying habit. Then a seed is born and this seed begins to grow to full maturity. When it is done growing it brings great harm to your life.

The thought occurred to me that the way to stop sin from growing into full blown life destroying behavior is to stop it early on.

Think about it, it is very easy to pull a young tree right up out of the ground. But if you let it grow just a year or two, you will need a bulldozer to move it. That's when you need rehab or serious intervention and help from others. If you need that, then get it. But why get to that point if you can stop it early?

Don't let temptation grow in your life to the point that you need an extreme effort to pull it up. Get it out early. As my good friend Barney Fife would say, "Nip it in the bud."

I hope you will laugh at this clip as much as I did.