Snake Handlers

A young Indian brave, going through the rites of manhood hiked solo into a beautiful valley. He decided to test himself against the rugged, snow-capped mountain that dominated the valley. When he reached the top, he felt like he was standing on the rim of the world. Then he heard a rustle at his feet--it was a snake.

Before he could move, the snake spoke,
“I am about to die. It's too cold for me up here, and there's no food. Put me under your shirt and take me down to the valley.” The young brave said, “I know your kind, you're a rattlesnake. If I pick you up, you'll bite and your bite will kill me.”

But the snake said, “No, I promise to treat you differently. If you do this for me, I won't harm you.” Finally, the young man was persuaded and tucked the snake under his shirt and carried it down to the valley.

As soon as he laid it on the ground, the snake suddenly coiled, and bit him on the leg. The young brave cried out, “But you promised!” As the snake slithered away, he hissed back, “You knew what I was when you picked me up.”

The story is a legend, but the Indian brave's mistake has been repeated in real life over and over. We have all handled snakes at one time or another. Are you messing with one right now?

God wants you to be sure you know exactly what that snake is and what it will do to you before you're fatally bitten. James l:15 is the anatomy of how sin gets us to pick it up and what the outcome will be. “After desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”It looks good, and maybe we think it's worth the risk. First, I want it, then I do it, then I pay for it. Sin always works that way. First it fascinates, then it assassinates. Always.

The killer snake will always be a killer snake, no matter how harmless it appears or how it looks that you'll get away with it. Not a chance.

Sin always kills. It kills your self-respect, your reputation, your relationships, your body, peoples' trust in you, and your closeness to God. You're NOT going to get away with it. God says, “Be sure that your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23).

You may be flirting with something you should be fleeing, making compromises that have brought you to the edge of a spiritual disaster, and getting close to someone you should be getting away from. You may be harboring hard feelings that you should have let go of by now.

Down in your soul, you know it is sin that killed your Savior, sin that God hates, sin that always bites those who handle it. And just because you can't see any consequences now, don't be fooled. Satan will be sure you're hooked and in a position where your fall will do the most damage...then you will feel his fangs. This is God's loving warning to drop it now, while you can, before the inevitable deadly consequences come. You can't afford to hold the snake of sin close one day longer. You know what it is when you pick it up. And you know what it will do.

Copyright, Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc. Permission to reproduce this material is automatically granted for non-commercial purposes of expanding the Gospel.