February 18, 2020 – Click here to listen
So I came up to Honey Lake yesterday to check on a prescribed controlled burn for my property. In Florida we have to burn the underbrush every year or two to keep it from getting overgrown and becoming a fire hazard not to mention making it useless for hunting or anything else.
It is time consuming and can be dangerous thus it is expensive. And yet it has to be done in order to keep the property pristine and beautiful. Failure to do so ensures that the consequences will be really bad.
A friend of mine told me yesterday he has been diagnosed with three melanoma skin cancers. He called me because I have a long history of skin cancer including melanoma and he wanted some advice. I prayed that he caught it in time and tried to encourage him to take this very seriously and get his tail in to see an expert ASAP!
The key to preventing it from spreading and causing serious problems including death is to perform regular maintenance by an expert and get it treated very quickly before it gets worse. I go every three months and get them burned, frozen and cut off before they result in more dire consequences. I’ve always felt it was akin to removing barnacles from the bottom of a boat.
So this logic makes perfect sense, but when it comes to sin, we aren’t so receptive to seeking treatment. When alcohol begins to create problems in your life it is time to seek some help but for whatever reasons some just keep right on drinking as though they are impervious to alcoholism. The same for drugs, overeating, pornography, trouble with your spouse, family and friends, smoking cigarettes, and so on.
It is illogical to panic and seek help for a diagnosis of melanoma but ignore these other problems. And yet we do.
Like a large tract of land that has been neglected and not burned, or a malignant cancer that has gone undetected and untreated because of failure to get a checkup it can very rapidly reach a point where we must suffer the pain of the consequences.
The worst form of neglect is putting off developing a good relationship with your Father in heaven. He will not be ignored and though He is patient at times, there does come a day of reckoning. A separation from God or spiritual death is the worst and unhappiness and a restless chaotic life is the best one can hope for when you are not close to God.
Matthew 13:30
First gather the tares together into bundles for burning, but gather the wheat into my barns