When I was a little girl, my father came home one day with a beautiful Spitz dog. We were so excited and could not wait to play with our new friend and get our hands in that billowy white fur. But just as my dad bent down to undo the leash the dog growled and snapped at him. He jerked his hand back just in time to avoid being bitten.

From that moment on we were forbidden to go near the dog.  At first, we tried to coax our dad into letting us pet it by telling him that the dog was just scared of his new surroundings. Dad was not about to give in because he wanted to protect us. As disappointed as we were we heeded the warning, and my dad took the dog back. What none of us knew is that this breed of dog has a tendency toward being aggressive.

Our Heavenly Father has put warnings in the Bible to keep us from harm. How many times have we tried to convince God that we know what we are doing? How many times have we said things like “just one time won’t hurt” or “It’s not that big of a deal?” God knows the dangers of sin, and he warns us to keep us safe.

God knows how aggressive Satan is at attacking us. He calls him a roaring lion seeking to devour. We only see the pretty part of sin that Satan puts in front of us. Sin may look white, soft and harmless on the outside but underneath is a violent beast waiting to sink his teeth into us. Let’s listen to our father and avoid being bitten.

“His own sins will trap the sinful. He will be held with the ropes of his sin.” (Proverbs 5:22) (NLV)