A Big Pile of Sticks

For a while now, before we mow the yard, we have picked up the sticks so we do not tear up the mower. Sometimes there will be a few sticks, sometimes many. Sometimes we might even pick up a limb that has fallen out of a tree. It is never enough to do anything major with, but they need to be picked up and gotten out of the way. We started making a pile behind the shed. It was small at first, but every time we mowed or a wind came through, the pile would grow. Every time I would mow back there this summer, I would think that I need to do something with that pile of sticks; it is becoming an eye sore. Last Saturday, Noah and I tackled the task.

Some observations from this experience: great good and great bad can start small. We started out with a few sticks here and a few sticks there, and it turned into what you see at the road in my front yard: a big pile of sticks. It was a pretty big job to clean that pile of sticks up. I think about evil things in our lives. They usually start small. One transgression leads to another and another, etc. An example of this might be watching or listening to things that take the Lord’s name in vain. At first it bothers you, but then you get used to it. Before long, you are using the letters O, M, and G inappropriately. Possibly it leads to wondering if God really is holy if I use His name so flippantly. Before long, you have a big mess on your hands. As Deputy Fife might say, “Nip it in the bud.”

The same principle could be used for good things as well. Make it a goal to read a chapter a day from the Bible this week, and do that again next week, etc. Before long, you have read a whole book, then two, then the whole Bible. So many good and bad things in our lives start small. What sticks are you piling up in your life?