Bible Reading: Proverbs 6:16-19; Romans 6:11-18

"Be sure you check your arms and legs for ticks!" Jay's mother called as he ran into the house. It was tick season, and the insects thrived in the woods where Jay played with friends. He obediently rolled up his sleeves, and sure enough, a tiny black bug had attached itself to his skin.

"Ugh. Got one, Mom. Can you take it off with your tweezers?" He went into the kitchen, and his mother pulled out a special tick removal tool from one of the drawers.

"Ticks glue themselves to your skin and burrow in," she said. "That's why it's important not to try to brush them off."

Jay nodded. "If the head stays in, it can give you Lyme disease, right? Like our neighbor has."

"Yes, though not all ticks carry Lyme disease. But any tick that's not fully removed can cause an infection, so we don't want to take any chances."

Jay's mom carefully removed the tick, then dropped it into a cup of rubbing alcohol. She smiled at Jay. "You know, sin can be like a tick sometimes--like when a bad habit attaches itself to us and burrows in. The longer it's there, the easier it can be to ignore--but like not properly removing a tick, ignoring sin is dangerous!"

"Because it's infecting us?" asked Jay.

"Sin doesn't make us sick the way a tick can," said Mom. "We won't get Lyme disease. But it can weaken our sense of right and wrong and make us lose our appetite for doing things that show others the love of Jesus. That's why the Bible warns us about letting sin infect our minds and hearts."

"Too bad there's no such thing as sin tick removers!" Jay grinned, and his mother laughed.

"We have something even better!" Mom replied. "We have Jesus, who sacrificed His life to free us from sin. When we go to Him for help and confess our wrongs, He will forgive us and help us replace bad habits with good ones. The best thing we can do is faithfully check our attitude each day. If we ask Him to remove anything in our lives that shouldn't be there, He will!"

–Deborah Meroff