The Serpents Eggs

“It is easier to crush the egg than to kill the serpent.” -Thomas Manton

Imagine you found a snake den in your home and it had a clutch of eggs in it. What would you do? It’s safe to say that you rid your home of the eggs before they hatch into snakes and bite you.

The same goes for temptations and sins. It’s much wiser to strive and pray to rid yourself of temptation rather than letting it grow and mature into full on sin. The venom of a snake is deadly but sin carries a much deadlier bite, and a far worse consequence.

The eggs, although harmless in its current state, have a great potential to be lethal if left alone. We can look at the egg and not know when it will hatch, but it will surely hatch if not done away with. Temptations itself isn’t a sin, we all face temptations, and Jesus faced them as well (Heb 4:15, Mark 1:13). It is our mishandling of temptation that turns to sin. And by not trying to rid yourself of temptations, letting them grow and dominate your thoughts, your likelihood of sin is great.

If the egg hatches and the serpent bites you, it is you that is harmed. Sin committed not only harms you, but also harms others, more importantly it is a blatant attack against God. Temptations should never be taken lightly. Just as the egg is a sign of sure danger to come, temptation should be seen the same way and crushed.

One serpent egg would cause us to search the whole house to make sure we are safe. We should search our lives, our hearts and thoughts at every moment so we recognize temptations. With a mind busy on the things of God and a heart for prayer, we can keep focused when temptation rises. “Be killing sin or sin will be killing you” -John Owen

May your shed blood make me more thankful for your mercies, more humble under your correction, more zealous in your service, and more watchful against temptations, Amen.