The Great Tissue Disaster
The moment I opened the dryer door, I knew I was in for a big mess. Someone (and I won't say who to protect the guilty party) left tissues in the pocket of his jeans...again. I stood there, mouth agape, staring at what looked like a winter wonderland inside my dryer. Only this wasn't the magical kind of snow that brings joy and merriment. This was the "I-now-have-to-spend-an-hour-picking-tiny-bits-of-tissue-from-every-single-item-of-clothing" kind.
I don't know when you last ran a load of laundry that contained tissues, but the result is quite a mess. It's truly amazing how a few small tissues can affect every single garment in that load of laundry. Not a single item came away without at least some bits of tissue clinging to them. T-shirts, jeans, socks? Yup, it was all decorated with white specks that resembled dandruff gone wild. Obviously, I was not pleased.
As I stood there with lint roller in hand, painstakingly removing tissue fragments from each item, I had plenty of time to think. I was reminded of a powerful truth: Even little things can cause great harm. As the old saying goes, "One bad apple can spoil the entire bunch." Or, as the Bible puts it, "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines; for our vines have tender grapes" (Song of Solomon 2:15).
Those "little foxes" in our lives, like the seemingly insignificant sins we tend to overlook or excuse, can wreak havoc on our spiritual walk. Like those tissues in the dryer, they don't stay contained. They spread and affect everything around them.
Perhaps it's a small habit of exaggerating the truth, or a tendency to gossip "just a little," or maybe it's a bit of envy we harbor toward a friend's success. We think, "It's just a small thing. It's not hurting anyone." But like those tissues, the damage spreads.
The Bible warns us, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (Galatians 5:9). Just as a tiny bit of yeast works through an entire batch of dough, so can a "small sin" work through our entire character and witness.
I'm reminded of how Jesus took all sin seriously. He didn't categorize them as "big sins" and "little sins." He knew that what starts small often grows into something much larger and more destructive.
As I finally finished cleaning the last sock, I made a mental note to check pockets more carefully in the future. But more importantly, I resolved to be more vigilant about those "little foxes" in my spiritual life and to not dismiss small compromises or tiny infractions as inconsequential.
Perhaps you too might benefit from a bit of "pocket checking" in your spiritual life. What small things might you be overlooking that could potentially cause significant damage? Let's ask the Lord to help us identify and remove those little foxes before they spoil the vine.
After all, it's much easier to remove a tissue before the wash than to clean up the mess afterward. Trust me! I speak from experience.