Many years ago I broke my left hand. It happened while I was working
as an apprentice in a machine shop in Houston. The result was a trip to
the hospital and a surgical procedure, during which the doctor inserted a
stainless steel pin from my knuckle to my wrist to hold the bone in
place while it healed.
During one of my follow-up visits, after the surgeon examined my hand,
he mentioned that he'd not be there when I returned to have the pin
removed, but he said his associate was well able to handle everything.
Curious, I asked if he was planning to take some well-earned vacation
time.
"Yes," he sighed, "I'm feeling a little drained these days, so I think
I'll escape for a couple of weeks, play some golf, and relax." Then he
added, "Also, I've got this little mole on my belly I need to have
removed—no big deal, but while I'm away, I'll have that taken care of."
When I returned to have the pin removed, I inquired about my
physician. The nurse stared blankly as the associate cleared his throat.
Without looking up, he said, "Didn't you hear? He died last week." I
was absolutely stunned. My mind whirled. I choked out, "He what?"
"It was cancer. When his surgeon made the incision to remove a mole,
then probed deeper, he discovered that his entire abdomen was laced with
malignant tissue. He never had a clue, just a slight yet steady drain
in energy. Actually, the only thing on the surface was that
innocent-looking little mole. He didn't live a week after they sewed him
up."
Through the years I've often remembered that incident when I look at
the slight scar on my wrist. And I am reminded that sin is a lot like
that little mole. It starts "small," but soon it is draining and
devouring our spiritual energy, like cancer in a body.
Because there may be little evidence on the surface to attract anyone
else's attention or arouse suspicion, no one bothers to probe and
investigate the devastation these sins are causing beneath the surface.
All the while, however, these silent and relentless killers are sucking motivation, draining energy, and blurring vision.
Don't wait. Before such sin eats deeper into our souls, we need to ask
the Great Physician to excise it—to cut it away so that we can become
spiritually sound and healthy.
While the mole of sin may appear small, its tentacles reach deep.
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