Cats and Consequences

It started out like most pet stories. Thirty-one year old Antoine Yates of Harlem, New York, took an eight-week old cat home to his apartment as a faithful feline companion.

It didn't take long for things to spiral out of control in ways Antoine could have never imagined. The cat quickly went from bottle feeding to chowing through twenty pounds of chicken thighs a day. Less than three years later, Antoine's cat, a Siberian-Bengal tiger, grew up to be a 425-pound furry friend still living in his small apartment.

You'll have to Google the rest of the story, but the tiger, named Ming, quickly turned violent. New York authorities had to rappel down the apartment building and tranquilize Ming with a dart in order to get him out of the apartment.

Sometimes we think our sins are little and innocent. After all, what's wrong if we fudge a little to impress someone, leave a little cash profit unreported on our taxes, or share a little morsel of gossip with our bestie?

No sin is little. Without Jesus, sin that seems like a innocent little cub will soon grow into a deadly tiger. 1 John 5:17 says that "all wrongdoing is sin." Romans 6:23 says "the wages of sin is death." There are consequences bigger than we could ever imagine... including separation from God.

The good news is that when we confess our sin (own up to it and be willing to turn from it), God is faithful to forgive us by the blood of Jesus. Are there any little tiger cubs in your life today?