St. Augustine gives a picture of how far men will go when they once begin to sin. There was a man who in argument declared that the devil made flies; Well, said the man with whom he was arguing, If the devil made flies, then it is but little more to say the devil made worms! Well said the other, I believe it. Well said the man, If the devil made worms, how do you know but what he made small birds? Well, said the other, It is likely he did! Well, resumed the man with whom he was arguing, But if he made small birds, why may he not have made big ones? And if he made big birds, why may he not have made man? And if he made man, why may he have not made the world? You see, says St. Augustine, By one admission, by once permitting the devil to be thought the creator of a fly, the man came to believe that the devil was the Creator. Just get one small error into your minds, get one small evil into your thoughts, commit one small act of sin in your life, permit these things to be dandled, and fondled, favoured, petted, and treated with respect, and you cannot tell whereunto they may grow. They are small in their infancy: they will be giants when they come to their full growth. Thou little knowest how near thy soul may be to destruction, when thou wantonly indulgest in the smallest act of sin! Spurgeon
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 03:57:34 +0000