Recently one morning, I had just put the coffee on when I looked down and there they were … some pesky little ants. I had noticed them off and on over the past several months, but we were living on the go with little time to pay much attention except to minimally treat where we thought they might be coming from.

Put off by the disruption to my quiet time, I got down to clean them up when I noticed a few more just around the corner. A quick flip of the light switch was all it took to discover that we had officially been invaded! Ants completely covered an area of my floor where it made absolutely no sense for them to be. YUCK!!! So much for Brother Joel getting anymore sleep!

For the next hour and a half, we found ourselves in the heat of the battle … gloves, spray, buckets, cleaning cloths, the vacuum, you name it. Our game was on! We moved furniture, rugs, a bookcase, a wood pile in the garage. We cleaned and wiped and washed and vacuumed until finally — Ah-ha! — we exposed the ants’ hiding place, an unused ash pit beneath the gas fireplace in our den.

This unwelcome encounter with the ants can be viewed as a very nasty reminder of the harsh reality of sin’s deceptive nature.

While seemingly aloof, sin is lurking everywhere. It comes in many forms and is much closer than we recognize or sometimes want to admit. It can be very subtle and seeks to infiltrate our lives in totally unexpected ways. None of us is immune to its possible grip.

Sin thrives in the darkness and is filthy. The warning signs can be remote, yet there are times when they are so close that we fail to notice or take action.

Sadly, when ignored and left unchecked, sin can multiply exponentially, easily overtaking parts of our life until we become unrecognizable to ourselves, to others, and most importantly to the Lord.

It takes effort to stay clean from sin. In order to stay clean — not fall prey to or revel in sin — we must act quickly and purposefully to rid ourselves of anything in our lives that would perpetuate iniquity. Our eternal lives depend on it: “for the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23)

The good news is that it only takes a little light to expose the darkness. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Had we taken the time to give heed to the warning signs of the pending invasion in our home, Brother Joel would have gotten a lot more rest on that fateful morning, and I would have been able to enjoy my cup of coffee and my quiet time. As you can imagine, we now remain watchful, ready, and much more prepared.

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.