The story is told of a man in Rockwood, Tennessee many years ago. Wilkie was a bricklayer, and one day he caught a black snake and tamed it so that it would coil about his neck as he walked up and down the streets of his town. He then became bolder, and caught a rattlesnake and tamed it. He would stand on the streets with the venomous shake curled around his neck, as the passersby shuddered in amazement. 

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One day, while showing off the snake, it coiled itself around his neck. This was not what he intended at the moment, so he took his hand to unwind the snake.  The snake became angry, and coiled tighter around his neck, then lifted his head and bit him, thus injecting its poison into Wilkie’s veins. The spectators were horrified as he yanked the snake from his neck and tossed it to the ground. But it was too late. The venom of death had been planted in his veins. He was carried home and died an agonizing death.

 

What a picture of the man or woman who tampers with sin! Too often the youth thinks, “I’ll just enjoy sin for a season, and then I’ll get my life right when I get older.” Unfortunately, I have known too many who thought this way. There are two serious problems with this way of thinking. (1) The young sometimes die too soon. Sadly, I have known teenagers whose lives were cut short in automobile accidents who were not prepared to die. And disease does not discriminate with respect to age. (2) The other problem is that I have known those who indulged in the things of this world while young, and were never able to “kick the habit” when they got older. Sin had sunk it fangs so deeply within them, that they were never able to change. This does not mean it would have been impossible to change, for with God’s help, all things are possible, but it does require much effort on the part of the one mired in sin, and some just don’t have the willpower to overcome. Paul wrote that “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Corinthians 15:56-57) 

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Question: If you were on a thrill-seeking sky-diving adventure and were presented with a parachute that had a warning label on it that said, “Caution, 10% of parachutes are not packed right, and may not open,” what would your response be? I don’t know many, if any, who would take the risk and jump using that parachute. 

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The wise Solomon gave some noteworthy teaching in Ecclesiastes 12:1: “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, ‘I have no delight in them.’” 

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The moral of the story? Don’t let Satan sink the fangs of death into you. “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) 

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Jefferson David Tant