We have heard the expression that it is the small foxes that spoil the vine. What chews away at our lives? What hinders our marriages? What tarnishes our testimony as a congregation? Most often it is not some gross evil, or deep dark depravity; more likely it’s a few little foxes that are running loose and doing their destructive damage. Here are some small foxes that cause tremendous damage:
1. The Fox of Self-Centeredness
The Bible declares that the human will is deeply perverted. It is determined to serve itself, to please itself, and to exalt itself. One of the marks of society in the days just before Jesus comes is that “men shall be lovers of their own selves” (2 Timothy 3:2).
Self-centeredness is only a little fox, but it can cause a tremendous amount of damage to a life, to a marriage, to a family, and even to a church. But what’s so bad about it? What can be so damaging about a “me first” attitude? After all, we tend to think that it’s not a vile sin like child abuse, or adultery, or taking a human life.
2. A Fox Called Bitterness
This little fox is also able to do untold damage. Again, it may not impress us as being anything too serious. What’s so desperately bad about a little bit of bitterness, a tinge of a negative and a critical spirit?
Bitterness is not a harmless little fault. The writer of Hebrews in essence says, Be careful that no root of bitterness should begin to grow and make trouble for you. We are to “Look diligently, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled” (Hebrews 12:15).
3. A Fox Called Unforgiveness
Forgiveness is the act of granting pardon to another person in spite of his insulting remarks, his short-comings, and his errors. Forgiveness, in the Bible, refers both to God’s pardon of our sins, and also to our willingness to give release to others who wrong us.
We are to forgive others, even as God has forgiven us: “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32). In Luke 6:37, Jesus says, “Forgive, and you shall be forgiven.”
God has forgiven us of much more than we can fathom, and therefore we should never withhold forgiveness from those who wrong us. Yet it isn’t always easy to forgive.
4. A Fox Called Thoughtlessness
Thoughtlessness is a lack of sensitivity to the feelings of others. In Genesis 40, we read about the butler and the baker, both of whom were in the same prison where Joseph had been placed, and both of them had a dream. They were disturbed about their dreams, but Joseph was able to interpret what they had seen—and told them what would happen to them in the future.
Joseph said that within three days, the king will call for both of you; the baker will die, but the butler will be spared. Then Joseph pleaded with the butler, by saying something like this: When you are released, please remind Pharaoh that I am here in jail; I did nothing to deserve this sentence. Please remember me!
Just as Joseph had prophesied, the men were released from prison; the baker was put to death, and the butler was restored to his former position. But Genesis 40:23 says that the butler promptly forgot all about Joseph, never giving him a thought. The butler was thoughtless.
Erick Bouwmeester
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