Smokin

Smokin
By Bro

Western Montana is a smokin’ place right now as some 4-6 wildfires continue to burn across the landscape. At times, the mountains have hardly been visible because of the smoke that seems to fill the valley in which we live. These fires start from a number of different causes. Be it lightning strikes, exhaust sparks from a vehicle traveling close to dry vegetation, chainsaws at work, controlled burning that got out of hand, and the list goes on. Several years ago, a fire got to blowin’ and goin’ a little too close to one western Montana community. Some 600 acres were burned before the fire was finally contained. The culprit in this fire? Two boys playing with matches. One spark turned into lives being at risk, homes potentially being burned to the ground, and a beautiful landscape blackened. The firefighters that work to control these fires would be quick to tell you that the best way to control such fires is to never let that first spark start.

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I often think about the messes we make throughout our lives that could have been controlled by avoiding that first spark. The things that seem so small and insignificant quickly swell into a life altering fiasco that leaves us with devastating consequences. A verse that should be constantly on our hearts is Proverbs 6:27. “Can a man embrace fire and his clothes not be burned?” Hey, if you play with fire, you’re gonna get burned! It’s straight out of God’s word! We must avoid that first spark. The spark of temptation is always looking for a place to ignite and then quickly fan into a wildfire burning out of control. Don’t play with it! Don’t go there! Never give it the opportunity to ignite in your life. The consequences of playing with fire can leave us with ruined relationships and a life that has been blackened by the sin of just one spark….just one spark.

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