One day I was at the beach and some friends of mine told me about some baby crabs they had found that they wanted to show me. There were two paths that I could see to get to these crabs. One was to walk around the rocks to the other side. It wasn’t a far walk but it didn’t provide the excitement I guess I was looking for. The other option was to walk on top of the rocks. This was a more direct path but not quite as safe. The rocks were still wet from the tide, and oyster shells had attached themselves to the rocks. So, against the instructions of my mother, I decided I was going to walk on these rocks to go see these baby crabs. I had been warned of the dangers, but I thought I would be ok. As you can probably tell, something bad was about to happen. As I was walking on these rocks I slipped and sliced my foot from top to bottom on the shells. My mom then picked me up and carried me all the way back to where we were staying so that she could take care of my foot.
We as people sometimes push our limits and walk on the edge. Now pushing our limits can be a good thing. Afterall, that’s how growth happens. Taking chances and taking advantage of opportunities can be very beneficial in our growth and overall development. But what happens when our walk on the edge isn’t actually brave and courageous? What happens when our walk isn’t leading towards growth but is instead leading towards destruction?
People often find themselves walking on the edge of sin. We have been warned but something inside us lets us think we will be ok. Maybe something inside even thinks we can get away with it and nobody will notice. Often times we will get as close to sin as we possibly can, without, in our own minds, ever crossing that edge. Is that really how a Christian is supposed to live?
In 1 Corinthians 6:18 we see to “flee sexual immorality”. 1 Corinthians 10:14 says to “flee from idolatry”. 1 Timothy 6:11 says “flee these things”. I think we can see pretty clearly that we are not to walk close to sin and definitely not to actively participate in it. We as Christians are to draw near to God. (James 4:8). We are to walk in the light. (1 John 1:7). We need to stay clear of the fence of sin and not walk on the edge. Afterall, the devil owns the fence.
In life let us be brave and courageous and seize opportunities that come our way. But let us do so with wisdom and soberness of mind. Let us not be so foolish to walk on the edge of sin and think we will avoid destruction.
Derek Broome