Delicious Poisons

Years ago, before cell phones (yes, ancient history), I joined a church group on a two-week camping & mountain-climbing trip in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Colorado. After days of hiking, one teen guy discovered some mushrooms. He collected them, fried them, and he and his girlfriend ate them.

When our outdoorsman guide found out, he was appalled. Many mushrooms in Colorado aren’t edible, he reminded. 

“But they tasted good,” objected the boy.

The guide looked him in the eye. “Some of the most poisonous mushrooms in the world taste delicious.” Then, to the rest of us he said, “Please, don’t anybody eat anything you find without checking with me.”

For the rest of that afternoon, we waited to see if that teen guy and girl got sick. (Even if they had, there was no way to summon help so deep in the mountains.) Fortunately, nothing happened. On this occasion, ignorance didn’t prove fatal.

But that guide’s words stick with me. Even things that are tasty can poison us. Recognizing the danger in advance should help us avoid swallowing questionable foods. But do we exercise the same caution concerning things that we allow into our eyes and ears?

Whenever anyone starts gossiping or criticizing someone else, one pastor I know interrupts to ask, “Is this a prayer request?” He will not stomach gossip and trash talk. With a simple question, he shuts it down.

What about the books and magazines we read, the TV shows and movies we watch, or the Internet sites we click to visit? Do we refuse to allow unwholesome sights and sounds into our brain? There’s a battle raging for your mind. Even a spell-binding story can dress up evil as good, can deliver carefully crafted immorality in a way that makes it look enticing, tantalizing…

The Bible agrees there is pleasure in sin—but only “for a season” (Hebrews 11:25). Satan knows how to make sin look slick and enjoyable. But he doesn’t show you the flip side—the damaged relationships, the broken homes, the emotional baggage, venereal diseases… The list goes on.

“I know it’s wrong, but it feels so right,” some object.

Sure, it does. Just like the tastiest mushrooms can be deadly.

“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14

“I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.” Psalm 101:3

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.” Psalm 119:9-10