Walk In the Light

Scott McFarland
01/16/22 - Sun AM Worship

An Appetite That Kills

There is a well-known story—I don’t know if it is true—of how Eskimos long ago would kill a wolf:

"First, the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then he adds another layer of blood, and another, until the blade is completely concealed by frozen blood.  "Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait, he licks it, tasting the fresh frozen blood. He begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare. Feverishly now, harder and harder the wolf licks the blade in the arctic night. So great becomes his craving for blood that the wolf does not notice the razor-sharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue, nor does he recognize the instant at which his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his OWN warm blood. His carnivorous appetite just craves more--until the dawn finds him dead in the snow!"**

Whether or not this was widely practiced, the illustration is pretty clear: we can become consumed with our own desires, just like the wolf, to the point we don’t realize what we are doing to ourselves.  Our fleshly desires can kill us—our relationships, our families, our mental health, our physical health…

This morning, I’m sharing my testimony with you, along with some very personal information I’ve never shared publicly before.  My hope is that my vulnerability and honesty will prompt others to be honest with themselves of where they are currently in their struggle against their flesh.  The reality is we all struggle.  Our attention (or inattention) to those struggles will ultimately be what kills or makes us alive spiritually.  Pay attention to your desires.

**Story taken from http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/l/lust.htm

    -Scott McFarland