Little Sins
Illustration★★★★The following was told in the address of a converted Burman to a group of natives. A little banyan seed said to a palm tree, “I am weary of being tossed about by the wind; let me stay a while among your leaves.” “Oh, yes,” said the palm tree, “stay as long as you like,” and by and by forgot the little seed was there. But the seed was not idle.
It sent out little fibers and tiny roots, and they crept around the trunk and under the bark and Sermon Outlines and Itlustrations Til into the heart of the tree itself. Then the tree cried out, “What is this?”
The banyan said, “It is only the little seed you allowed to rest among your leaves.” “Leave me now,” said the palm tree. “You have grown too large and strong.” “T cannot leave you now; we have grown together.
I will kill you if I tear myself away.” The palm tree bowed its head and tried to shake the banyan off, but could not, and little by little the palm tree withered, the trunk shriveled, and only the banyan could be found.
Beware of little sins!—The Pilot x ak x * me
The point
Small sins, like tiny seeds in a tree, grow quietly and imperceptibly until they strangle and kill the host—beware of little sins.