There is an old story about a mother of eight who walked into her house after visiting with a neighbor and found her five youngest children huddled together in the middle of the living room. On closer examination, she discovered that her children were gathered around a family of skunks. Utterly shocked, she screamed, “Run, children, run!” Responding to their mother’s command, each child grabbed a skunk and ran.[1]

This story is a poignant parable of our sinful nature. Like giddy children huddled together around something unique, sin has a way of fascinating each of us. Like Adam and Eve in Genesis, it is the mysterious and forbidden fruit which is most attractive. In fact, sin can be so attractive that when we are told to run away from it, we cannot help but pick it up and take it with us…