A Pet Grizzly Bear

 

            It seems that my ears are open wider in doctor’s office waiting rooms than most other places.  As I sat at the eye doctor the other day, I overheard a very strange statement from an elderly woman.  As she and her daughter read out loud a magazine article about a bear attacking a hunter, the woman said, “I’d like to have a pet grizzly bear.”  She seemed serious, though she may have been joking.  But I imagined for a moment how crazy it would be to invite a killer bear into your home.  I mean, you know the damage that a beast like that can do, so who wouldn’t want to get as far away from it as they could, as fast as they could?  Then, I thought about how many Christians try to inch as close as possible to sin, knowing the destruction that it brings!

 

            When we look in the mirror before we leave home in the morning, are we trying to profess godliness with our apparel, or are we leaning ever so close to the “line” between modest and immodest?  If only we would each imagine the devastation that immodest dress can lead to.  “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt 5:28).  That lustful intent that is often triggered by revealing clothing, can turn into physical adultery, thus destroying families and lives.  It can also manifest itself in countless other sins, including: molestation, voyeurism, rape, etc.  Don’t invite immodesty into your home or take it with you when you go about your life.

 

            Young people often argue, “It’s ok for me to go to the party, as long as I don’t do the sinful things that everyone else is doing.”  Folks, that is like going to play in a den of bears!  Why on earth would a Christian want to seek recreation and entertainment in an environment that is void of morality and full of sin?  You’ve seen the wicked results of drinking alcohol, so it makes no sense to see how close you can get to it without getting hurt.

 

            This reasoning can be used with any and all forms of immorality.  You wouldn’t bring a dangerous killer grizzly bear into your living room and argue that it is ok, and that no one will get hurt.  “How strange it is that people professing Christianity can suppose that with a worldly spirit, worldly companions, and their lives governed by worldly maxims, they can be in the favor of God, or ever get to the kingdom of heaven!” (Adam Clarke).  Live for God, and be certain of your spiritual safety!

 

----Darrell Powell