I remember hearing that as a kid. Sitting in class and hearing the teacher say it over and over again. “Never play with matches… never play with matches” became the mantra of a room full of six year olds.

I hear the stories in the news about kids who choose not to listen to the advice that they were given. Somehow they think that they have it under control. They think that they will never get burned or worse yet, burn those around them.

Proverbs 6:27 says “Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?” To me, the answer is pretty self-explanatory. But how many times do we see friends and family take on lifestyles that we all know will catch up to them sometime? Worse yet, how many friends and family know that WE are taking on lifestyles that we DON’T know will catch up to us sometime?

We need to take a good long look at the things that are in our lives that may ‘ignite’ and destroy everything around us if we keep on ‘playing with the matches’. From what I’ve seen from others’ misfortunes, the joy of the flame never matches the damage of the fire.

At least that’s how I see it,

Craig