The Small Sin
In 1913, the federal government held a fiftieth anniversary reunion of the Battle of Gettysburg. It was held at Gettysburg and thousands of men who had survived that horrible battle and war were camped all over the battlefield once again, but now these men were in their seventies, eighties, and nineties. The climax was a reenactment of the Pickets Charge up Cemetery Ridge. All the old Union soldiers gathered up on Cemetery Ridge, and the old Confederate soldiers gathered in the woods along Seminary Ridge. When they commenced the charge, they say that it was not rifles and bayonets that they were carrying but walking canes and crutches.
It was a great reunion, but on the last night as they all gathered at a restaurant to eat, a Yankee on one side of the table got into a Rebel on the other side of the table. Harsh words were passed and the two old soldiers grabbed their forks and one was nearly fatally wounded in the fight that erupted. Having survived one of the bloodiest battles in history, having made it through the bloodiest war America has ever fought, they came down to being nearly killed with a fork.[1]
In the Christian walk it amazes me how well we handle the big issues. The overwhelming majority of Christians handle well faithfulness physically to their mate; it is the lustful thoughts that give us the big problem. The overwhelming majority of Christians do not rob banks, or snatch purses, or shoplift desirable items. However, we really struggle over stealing work hours from the employer, justifying expense account purchases, and even giving less than our best to our mates and family.
It is the small sin that does you in. Things like procrastination, apathy, half-truths. Years ago, I read a story about some beached whales. Scientists were puzzled over why these whales were beaching themselves. It was discovered that these huge creatures were chasing minnows and simply beached themselves in the process and died. It’s the little things that get you in your walk with Christ. It’s the little things that eventually lead to the big things that seem to sink you.
In a recent study of the great ship the RMS Titanic, scientists discovered the real reason for the unsinkable ship’s demise. When they found the Titanic resting about 2.5 miles down on the bottom floor of the North Atlantic Ocean, they discovered that it was not a huge slice in the side of the ship that caused the Titanic to sink. No, it was that the seams of the ship had popped apart opening the ship to the sea. In a study made of the small rivets, it was discovered that they had been cast with a high residual of slag still in the iron. Slag left in iron causes iron to become brittle at extreme temperatures. When the great ship hit that iceberg, it was not that a hole was cut into the side of the ship, but that thousands of little rivets cracked under pressure. Christian, it is the small things that get us. Solomon says, “Catch the foxes, the little foxes that are spoiling the vineyard,” (Song of Solomon 2:15). It is the small sin that does you in.
[1] The Civil War, p. 412, From the Files of Leadership