Viper Warnings

(Proverbs 23:32 KJV)  At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.

Texas has some dangers that I did not need to be alert for in California.  Scorpions and centipedes might have existed somewhere but I never say one.  In Texas they are common enough that I worry about walking through the house at night.  I recently had a centipede about four or five inches long stroll out of my closet.  Snakes were rare in the suburbs and I don’t think I ever saw a rattler in the wild.  Now they tell us to be on the alert.

Instead of going on a snake hunt I have done a little reading.  Several things become obvious.  The first is that snakes will go out of their way to avoid you.  Most of us are too big to make a decent meal.  Snakes generally don’t take bites, they swallow their meals whole.  They also know that you can hurt them.  They may not be intelligent but they are not stupid.  Rattle snakes will also try to give you warning if you are getting too close.  Because of this I don’t worry about snakes much.

I also don’t worry about the dangers of alcohol.  I have heard the warnings.  I am aware of the dangers.  I don’t go there. 

So?  God gives us ample warnings about the dangers to our spiritual lives.  We may make mistakes because of lack of judgment but it is possible to avoid choices that endanger our eternity.