Troy and I were in the car, stopped at an intersection. Across the road, on the other side of the traffic light was a curtain of rain. Where we were it was dry, but in a moment we would cross over and enter the rain. We had time to prepare ourselves; to shut the windows, turn on the headlights and such.
It was a very clear cut delineation and just a matter of a foot or so would have you either wet or dry. This is a rare phenomenon. Usually, there is such a gradual transition to rain that it almost sneaks up on you. First there are a few dark clouds and then more dark clouds. Then often it starts to sprinkle a few drops, then it increases gradually until it becomes a steady rain. Sometimes a person would be hard pressed to identify the exact moment it actually started to rain.
A sinful habit is much like that. A small dark cloud of this and a few sparse drops of doing that, and almost without realizing it we have drifted into a full-blown storm of problems. If it was as clear cut as the curtain of rain, we could more easily avoid getting wet. But entering sin is very seldom that obvious a step. So we must always be warned by those first small dark clouds and spatterings of evil, and pray for our Father to help us redirect our steps that we might remain in the way of light.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One