Playing with Fire

“Burn the trash.” Those were the words my mother said to me. 

When I was a child, probably eight or nine years old, I was taught to do chores. They included things like dusting, helping with laundry, running the vacuum, and other jobs mom deemed me capable of doing. I can’t remember ever getting the job of burning the trash, but she must have thought I was ready for it. 

We had a burning barrel out on the alley behind our house and I had often seen my father, mother, and brother burn trash in that barrel, but on that particular day she handed me the matches and a bag of trash and told me to “burn the trash.” I felt grown up and important as I headed out there, put the trash in the barrel, struck that match and lit the trash on fire. I loved watching the flames as they darted up above the top of the barrel and quickly got rid of that trash.

Everything would have been fine if I had just headed back into the house. But there was dry grass in the middle of the alley and I thought it would be fun to build just a little fire there. I piled up the grass, lit it on fire, and began to add a few twigs. 

The fire grew. 

It began to move out of my little circle. A puff of wind quickly sent it up the middle of the alley and it grew as it went. I stood there in fear as it quickly made its way to the neighbors wooden shed and began burning it to the ground. 

I looked toward our house and saw my mother running toward the fire with the water hose and I ran toward her. As she passed me she simply said, “You get in the house.” I’ll leave it to your imagination as to what happened to me when the fire at the shed was put out. Just suffice it to say, that a part of my anatomy was set on fire and there were other consequences for what I had done.

I’ve thought about that event many times through the years. I’ve thought about the consequences of playing with fire. So often it isn’t just the fire that is lit by a match that brings terrible consequences. 

Ask the young wife whose husband has become addicted to pornography after he simply started looking at a few pictures on the internet. Ask the young person who is addicted to drugs when he/she was only going to try it once and simply wanted to fit in with their friends. Ask the bewildered parents of a child who is totally out of control when all they wanted to do was make that child feel loved, and so they began giving in to every want and demand. Ask the alcoholic who began with just a social drink.

Our congregations even suffer when we “play with fire.” In an attempt to keep our members happy and faithful in attendance, many congregations have implemented programs and policies that are worldly or denominational. In an effort to keep our youth groups “happy,” they are often taken to events which weaken their faith rather than strengthen their faith. Because we are an entertainment-oriented society, we feel as though we have to entertain our young people. We are playing with fire.

And let’s not forget what James taught about the use of the tongue. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he called the tongue a fire. How many families, friendships, or congregations have been divided or destroyed because of misuse of the tongue? (James 3)

Fire is useful when used with caution and responsibility. But fire can be so destructive when it is out of control. It is not something to be “played with.”

When you play with fire you might burn down the neighbors’ shed…

…or destroy a relationship, a home, a family or a congregation.

“…three things are never satisfied; four never say, ‘Enough:’  Sheol, the barren womb, the land never satisfied with water, and the fire that never say, ‘Enough.” (Proverbs 30:15-16)

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