Magnets(Temptation)

(Sin)

Canamanscoopfireintohislapwithouthisclothesbeingburned?Canamanwalkonhotcoalwithouthisfeetbeingscorched?Proverbs6:27-28

TheBasicBibleTruth

Weareallbornwithasinnature.Itisdespicableandplaguesuseverydayofourlives.Welookattheeverydaythingsaroundus,andknowverywellthegoodfromthebad.Butoursinnatureisfascinatedbythe bad things and drawn to them. We are tempted to sin. That in itself is not a sin. Yielding totemptationistheproblem.Toooftenweareliketheoldcowinthepasture,pushingatthefence,tryingtogetalittlebitmoregrassontheotherside.WeplaythegameofhowclosecanIgetandnotgetburnedbysin.Thatisaverydangerousgametoplay.

TheObject

TwoLargeMagnetSpheres2”Diameter(TheseAreGenuinelyDangerous—NotAToy)

Iboughttwo2inchdiameterneodymiummagnetsonline. Thesearepowerfulenoughtocauseseriousdamage tohands and fingers. Mine are rated topull at about200pounds each, so if they touch eachother, itrequiresroughly400poundsofpressuretopull themapart. Ihaveaccidentallyhadthisveryproblemoccur, and it tookme15minutes to break themapart. Themagnetic field around themwillcauseobservabledisturbancesinaboutatwotothreefootdiameter.Theywillfryacellphoneorawatch.Needlesstosay,I,andonlyI,handletheminpublic.

TheLesson

Ihavebroughtwithmetoday,twoofthemostfascinatingtoysthatIhaveinmytoybox.Thisisa2inchneodymiummagnet.Andthisismyotherone.Mywifehatesthesethings.ShewillnotbeinthesameroomwithmewhenIgetthemout. IhaveseenhergetupandwalkawaywhenIcarrytheseintotheroom. Sheknowswhat theseare,and isnotonlyscaredof them,shedoesn’twant toevenbearoundthematall.Butlookattheseinnocentlittleballsofmetal.Theyareonly2inchesindiameter,howmuchdamagecouldtheydo?Andlookhowbrightandshinytheyare. Theyareactuallykindofpretty. Youcanevenseeyourselfinthem.Justtwoshinymetalballs.What’swrongwiththat?Whatcouldpossibly

gowrong?All toooften,we lookatsin thesameway Iam lookingat these two littlemetalspheres. I canhandlethemok.I’llbecareful.IknowwhatI’mdoing.Iwon’tgethurt.Lastwordsbeforefallingheadlongintosin. Sinisenticing. Itmayevenlookprettyandfunandexciting. Satanhashadthousandsofyearstoperfecthiscraft.Heisamasterattakingthatwhichisgoodandright,andmixinginjustenoughwrongtocauseustrouble.It’slikearecipeforacake.Addalloftheingredientstogether—plusonesmalldropofarsenic—andyouhaveaseriousproblemonyourhands.Butwehaveapropensity forsineven ifSatan isnot the instigator. Therewasacomicyearsagowhoplayedarecurringcharacter,andwhenthatcharacterwascaughtdoingsomethingwrong,hisresponsewas,“TheDevilmademedoit.”Theologically,thatisnotacorrectstatement.Weflirtwithsin,wegetclose to it because we have a sin nature that is naturally drawn that direction. God warned Cain inGenesis thatsinwassomething thatheneededto learn tomaster,or itwouldmasterhim. Wearenodifferent,evenasChristians;westillstruggle.Thesetwometalballsareextremelydangerous.IhadtosignawaiverwiththecompanythatIpurchasedthem from before theywould even sell them tome. Neodymium is the strongest permanentmagnetcurrentlyavailable.Thesetwoballshaveamagneticfieldsurroundingthemaboutthesizeofaverylargebeachball. I cannotwearawatchwhenplayingwith them,and I certainlymustputmycellphone faraway.AccordingtotheinternetsitewhereIpurchasedthese,theyareratedtopullat200poundseach.If they touch together, andbelieveme, itwouldbeaverysudden touch, theywouldbestuck togetherwith400poundsminimumtopullthemapart.Ihavedoneittwicejustoutofcuriosity.Thelasttime,ittookme15minutestogetthempulledapart.Imaginewhatwouldhappentoahandorafingerthatgotinthewayofthesetwo.Itwouldbelikeputtingafourhundredpoundweightinthepalmofyourhand—notpretty.TheonlydemonstrationIwilldowiththesetwoforyoutodayisasomewhatsafeone.Iwilllayoneofthese on a wood tabletop and hold the other high in the air with my hand. As I bring them closertogether,watchclosely,andyouwillseewhentheirmagneticfieldsbegintointeractwitheachother.Atabout2feetapartnotice,whenIturntheballinmyhand,theotheroneonthetablereactsbyrotatingtheoppositedirection.Thereismuchgoingonherethatwecannotsee,butisthere.Wedon’talwaysseeallofthedangersinvolvedwithplayingwithsin. Butthedangeristhere,GodhastriedtoclueusinonhowHefeelsaboutsin.Thewagesofsinisdeath. Thatisaverystrongstatement.MayweheedHiswarningsandstayfarawayfromsin,infact,let’sfleefromit.ScripturetakenfromtheHolyBible,NEWINTERNATIONALVERSION®,NIV®Copyright©1973,1978,1984,2011byBiblica,Inc.®Usedbypermission.Allrightsreservedworldwide.