Enjoy Life, Enjoy God

ONE BAD APPLE

November 17, 2010

"One bad apple spoils the whole barrel." The proverb teaches a truth we fight. We are such individualists, the thought that someone is influencing me, corrupting me, such thought offends our sensibilities. However...

The Lord said to Joshua, "Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned."

- Joshua 7:10,11 TNIV

Thirty-six Israelite soldiers dead on the ground, unaware of the bad apple. Achan was the "bad apple." He cheated on his income taxes, basically, by holding back some captured spoils of war. Harmless he thought. He thought wrong and dead soldiers were proof of his rationalization and sin. His cheating killed others.

We have to be careful of taking OT stories into 2010 but let's be sure of this. Like Achan, let's not be too quick to say words like, "It's no big deal," or even "It's my business, no one else's." Those are just the sort of words that destroyed Achan and a bunch of others.

Joyfully,

Dale Patterson