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“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5).

I get up early each day for morning chores, which includes filling the coal hopper behind our coal stove and emptying the ash bin in our family room. Yesterday I heard something snap in the distance as I worked and initially wondered what it was. Then the source occurred to me. I had recently set a mouse trap in the closet. Lo and behold of all times the mouse was active while I was in the room. I checked the trap and sure enough I got him (or her, I didn't check nor would I know how to).

Living out here in the country these unwelcome visitors come to our home which especially intensifies as the weather gets colder. We set traps and have caught many through the years. One thing is for sure, we never get the same one twice.

We used to serve as chaplains for a company that makes mouse traps. I spoke to a salesman and learned our mice problem (along with millions of others) was good for their business! That’s a perspective we would probably prefer not to ponder.

Our cat Gracie seems to have no interest in catching mice although Brooksyne did tell me that last night she seemed to be interested in getting in that closet.

We had another cat, Dottie, for many years who was a line of mouse defense in our home but frankly she was just not as dependable as the traps. When she did catch one she tended to like to play with it and wouldn't finish them off as we prefer. Once she had two in her mouth at the same time but she would just let them go to chase them again!

Brooksyne doesn’t like it when I draw illustrations from our experiences with mice. Apart from being frustrated at our mouse problem (which I consider just part of the price of living out in the country), I suppose she also wonders if it might cause some to question her housekeeping skills. I guess women just don’t want it known that they have mice in their home!

But mice do manage to find their way into our home as the temps drop. Mouse patrol is my exclusive duty. Neither Brooksyne nor Ester will touch a mouse trap to set it, let alone touch one that has a trapped mouse. I actually set several traps at a time in the basement level closet where they seem to habitat. Over the years we’ve had some interesting catches including one time we caught two in one trap.

Is there a spiritual lesson here?  I was thinking of the line from "The Night Before Christmas", “not a creature was stirring not even a mouse”, but that’s not in the Bible and I can’t think of an eternal lesson from that!

But there is a spiritual principle that we believe both our traps and our playful cat can teach us.  Of course we would have desired that as a country cat “mouser” she would not only have caught the mice but finished them off as well! She may have thought it was fun to merely play with them but Brooksyne sure didn’t think so.

Our cat illustrates the attitude many have toward sin. But as believers we must heed the apostle Paul’s strong words in our daily text. “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). Today let us especially focus on that phrase “Put to death”.

We consider a friend who “played around” with a poisonous temptation in his life. His allurement to sin grew over time until he finally gave in and destruction followed the initial enticement. The sin he committed was a means to an end, and his mind was so preoccupied by the end that the guilt of the means he overlooked. Initially it seemed harmless with little consequences. Satan’s devices are always portrayed as “harmless” since he’s a master at masquerading the consequences. During a time of temptation to sin Satan only presents the "pleasure" of sin, not the fuller consequences one will suffer which will often impact those closest to him.

"The Bible says that there can be pleasure in sin, but it is only for a season. The pleasure of sin fades, leaving us bitter and ultimately destroying us. A day of reckoning always comes, and the Bible says, “Be sure your sin will find you out”. The pleasure of sin is like the “forbidden fruit” that fades, and some will repeat the sin trying to bring back the pleasure first experienced. The Bible warns that when sin has run its full course, it always leads to death." (BillyGraham.org)

We do well today to seriously heed the words of the Holy Scripture. What issue(s) in your life today are you playing around with?  We appeal to you, take decisive action and put it to death!

Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, I ask you to help me to be serious about dealing with everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles me. Help me not to play around with these matters that can become a stronghold leading to destruction. Put to death any desire or behavior which resurrects my earthly nature, for I want to be separated from that which is evil and wholly consecrated to You, in Jesus' name I pray. Amen.