Pet Snakes

I had a dream that my husband brought home a baby snake as a pet for our young son. Seeing the snake as "cute" and "innocent", I agreed to welcome this creature in to our home. I had a great feeling of security with this little snake in our house because we had clear boundaries in the form of an empty aquarium. A problem arose, however, when that cute little baby snake was no long so cute or little. In the dream, I went to my husband and pleaded my case, explaining that due to his new size and strength, our son's "pet" was becoming a dangerous liability. My husband agreed to get rid of the reptile, but when we went to get him we discovered the snake had escaped his aquarium! The dream ended with  my heart fallen deep in my stomach as I knew that our once adorable little friend was now lurking behind every corner. Worse yet, I knew that because we had raised our child without fear of his pet that he wouldn't know to be cautious with this predator.

We made three mistakes with the snake:

We assumed it's size made it less than a real snake. We somehow thought it was harmless because it was comparatively "small".
We thought we could contain a creature that is predatory by nature.
We didn't see that we were dismantling our son's natural healthy fear of a dangerous animal.
Every day we welcome "pet snakes" into our homes and lives. They are the "small", "cute" sins we invite to take up residence. We make the same mistakes as I did in the dream:

We assume the "size" of an infraction makes it less than "real" sin. What does it look like to welcome in a "little sin"? Have you ever heard a child admit not to telling a lie, but rather a "fib"? They've created an economy that says if an untruth doesn't visibly hurt another, then it isn't a "real" lie, it's just a little "fib". But even the tiniest lie puts distance between us and our Holy God who cannot lie (titus 1:2). That distance makes it more difficult to hear the Holy Spirit convicting us. When we create an environment which is tolerant of small sins, we deceive ourselves into believing that the lust for sin will not grow. Sin is never satisfied with part of you, it will pursue every piece of you until it destroys you. Look at the story of David as told in 2 Samuel chapters 11-12. David, the once hailed hero of Israel, sees Bathsheba bathing on a rooftop (11:2) and let his gaze linger too long. This "small" sin of looking upon a woman who was not his to look at in that way led to the sins of adultery (11:4) and murder (11:24). What started with a prolonged look led to both the murder of an innocent and good man and the death of David's first child (12:15).

We think we can "contain" our sin. We only lie when it's for a really good reason. We only get drunk on vacation where we won't be caught. We only destroy someone's reputation when they've really made us angry. But just as with the above point, sin won't be satisfied. When you give it freedom in one area, it will take it in the others. David thought his sin was contained because Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, was away at war. No one would know what had happened. It would be their little secret. But those plans fell apart when Bathsheba became pregnant (11:5). David learned that Numbers 32:23 is true when it says, "you may be sure that your sin will find you out". Containment doesn't work. Once you've allowed sin in your life it will chip away at the walls you've set it in until it is on full display, destroying your life and your witness.

We don't see that we are becoming comfortable with sin and are unafraid of its consequences. I've seen parents teach their children to lie for them. Things like, "if anyone asks why we missed church tell them you weren't feeling well." Unfortunately, the parent doesn't realize that they are building a skill. It may be useful to the parent to have their 6 year old lie for them about where they were and what they were doing, but it won't feel so cute when they are a 16 year old lying to their parents about about where they are and what they are doing. As David's sins escalated he didn't immediately see the consequences for his actions. He wasn't caught when he started inquiring about Bathsheba, nor when he sent for her, nor when he called Uriah home in an effort to cover his tracks, not even when he ordered the man's murder was David caught. It wasn't until Nathan arrives in chapter 12 that David realizes that the Lord had seen it all and that punishment was coming. Without swift consequence, we are often deceived into believing that none are coming, but the bible tells us in Romans 6:23 that the wages for ALL sin is death. Sin will wait for you. Sin will find you. Sin will defeat you...if you let it in.


1 Peter 5:8 demands that we "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." The devil is lurking. He's looking for the smallest part of your heart and life to enter and to grow. Don't let him in.