Turning Point Daily Devotional had this last week.
On January 12, 1997, two Swiss men set out to be the first to circle the earth in a high-tech, solar-powered, pressurized, hot-air balloon. Not long after launch, however, strong fumes from a kerosene leak forced the craft down in the Mediterranean Sea. A failed fuel clamp, costing $1.16, brought down an aircraft costing $1.5 million.
While this event was unforeseen and accidental, it serves to make Solomon’s point in Ecclesiastes 10:1. Something very small can ruin something very large. More specifically, Solomon says a little act of foolishness can undo something you have taken a lifetime to build. He compares the life of a person to a vial of costly perfume, something that gives off a beautiful fragrance and has great value. All it takes to ruin that vial of ointment is for a fly to fall in it and drown. Something beautiful is immediately transformed into something repugnant. If you are toying with the idea of doing something foolish, thinking “it’s just a little thing” . . . don’t do it. There are no little things. If something seems little to you, it means you haven’t gotten close enough to it to see how big it really is.
Let this be a reminder to us that all the temptations, regardless of what type and how insignificant temptations may seem, are dangerous. Fight, refuse, reject and flee from all. May the shield of faith protect you from flaming arrows throughout this week.
Have a wonderful week!