Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your
adversary the devil prowls around
like a roaring lion, seeking someone
to devour. (1 Peter 5:8 ESV)
Word prompt--GRADUAL
Five minutes to free-write about it
-------------------------------------------------
Several thoughts popped into mind when I saw this week's prompt--the fable of the boiling frog; a memory from long ago when I joined a gym and after going in daily for quite a while, had to skip a day, and then not too long after that I skipped another, and then another, and gradually, with each day I skipped, it became easier and easier to find excuses not to go in, until before I knew it, I had stopped going altogether; and the time one of my favorite sweet treats had been discontinued and a couple of years later my daughter surprised me with a bag of them she had found on a visit to Cracker Barrel. I thought of how excited I was, and then disappointed when I opened the bag and noticed the candy didn't look the same as it used to, nor taste the same either. Even the picture on the bag, on closer inspection, wasn't quite the same. It was a facsimile manufactured by another company, and not the real thing at all. Nevertheless I kept going back to the bag for more, and each time I did so, the difference started to fade, until gradually I wasn't noticing it at all, and was quite enjoying my treat. How quickly my taste buds had dulled.
Except for the boiled frog, none of those things had been of any great consequence in the big scheme of things, but in retrospect, they were warnings of how easy it is to lose sight of the things that used to be the most important priorities. It happens so gradually, they are hardly noticed.
I'm thinking that's why there are so many warnings in Scripture to stay vigilant in these last days lest we be distracted, deceived, and spiritually blinded as our eyes become more and more fixed on the pleasures and cares of this world instead of on the things of God. Always busy, always entertained, always sidetracked by the cares of life, but seldom watching and praying or aware of the evil rising around us, until it is too late. (Luke 21:34, 2 Timothy 3:1-4, 1 Peter 5:8, Matthew 24:37).
When we receive God's gift of salvation, we become new creations in Christ. The past is washed away, and all things are made new (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are given a clean slate, and a new standard of living--not to restrict us, but rather to open the door for us to receive God's blessings, and to become the very best that He intended for us to be.
Sometimes though, it's hard not to fit in with the crowd, and easy to start making little compromises. After all, what's the big deal about reading that book everyone's talking about? Or going to the movies with friends, even though it's one I wouldn't think of asking Jesus to watch with me.
It may take a while before giving in to that first little compromise, but then how much easier it becomes to justify the next one, and the next, until gradually our lives are no longer distinguishable from anyone else's in the non-believing world who we were supposed to be setting an example for. How like the unsuspecting frog.
For those of you who may not be familiar with the tale, it's about a frog dropped into a pot of water. If the water had been very hot, it would have immediately hopped out, but if it was cool or pleasantly tepid, and then brought to a boil ever so slowly, the frog won't notice the gradual change in temperature until it is too late and it gets gradually boiled to death.
Only a fable, I know, but also some good food for thought.
----------------------------------------------------------
In those days before the flood, the people were
enjoying banquets and parties and weddings
right up to the time Noah entered his boat.
People didn't realize what was going to
happen until the flood came and swept them
all away. That is the way it will be when the
Son of Man comes. (Matthew 24:37-39, NLT)
-1.jpg)
