Wake up! When you compromise on small things, it can lead to big spiritual problems. Don’t allow little foxes to spoil the fruitful vine that God is maturing in your life.
I’ve got quite a memory from my days living on our Maryland farm.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and a long time ago, back in the late 1960s after I was released from rehabilitation, my sister Jay invited me to live with her in her farmhouse out in the rolling hills of Maryland. The stone and wood house itself was quite old and its interior structure included part of an old log cabin whose wood dated back to the late 1800s. With such old timbers, there was the chance of termites. Now, the first year or two I lived there; we didn’t pay much attention to them. We only spotted just a few. We considered calling an exterminator but decided to save the expense and use a can of bug spray – bad idea. And we paid for it the following year. The termites came back and brought all their third cousins.
You see, compromise in little things will lead to a greater downfall. It’s why the second chapter of the Song of Solomon says, “Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes.” Now, every vine keeper will be on guard against foxes, but Solomon tells us to be aware of the “little foxes.” Small foxes. The kind that can sneak in-between the stones of a vineyard wall where a big fox might not be able to.
And that’s a good way to describe the dangers of sin. As Christians, we’ re usually on guard against the big “foxes,” as it were: big sins like racism, slander, stealing, or an explosive temper. But it’s the minor, it’s the incidental little-fox sins that we tend to ignore, or even trivialize. We might not slander another’s reputation, but we will engage in a little form of slander, like a little gossip. Racism is wrong, we know, but do we sometimes brush aside certain people maybe because of their lack of ability, or age, or color? We would never steal from a store, but we might steal accolades from the person to whom the applause really belongs. It is always the little foxes, the small sins, that are the most destructive. Because those little sins [little foxes that we sweep away as unimportant] they spoil tender grapes. They spoil a tender conscience, making it a little more numb, a little more dull than before. Keep doing those small sins and before you know it, your conscience won’t even recognize that those little things are sinful. Small sinful habits also stifle small, good beginnings. Little sins kill good intentions—intentions that are tender and young; like, well, the new, little grapes on that vine that haven’t had a chance to mature. This is the fruit most vulnerable to ruin.
And one more thing. Whether the transgression is big and obvious or it’s minuscule and barely noticeable, it’s all the same to God. There’s no pulling the wool over his eyes. Andrew Bonar puts it this way; he said, “It is not the importance of the thing, but the majesty of the lawgiver that is to be the standard of obedience. Some people might reckon such minute rules as trifling. But the principle is simply this—are we convinced the Lord is to be obeyed in all things?” Today you may be sweeping [what you may call] little sins under the carpet, like hedging on the truth, claiming more deductions than you deserve on a tax form, or fantasizing yourself into a real whopper of a soap-opera daydream. Well, wake up. When you compromise on small things, it can lead to big spiritual problems. Don’t allow little foxes to spoil the fruitful vine that God is maturing in your life.
© Joni and Friends