One Bad Apple


There is an old saying, "One bad apple ruins the bunch," and I thought about that as I went out into the garage the other day to get a few apples to include in the stuffing I was making for Thanksgiving.

In the bag of apples we had picked at Jim's farm, there - right at the top, was one that was clearly bad.  There was a big brown mushy spot on it and it was oozing a bit as well.  But the interesting thing was that the apples that were touching it had also started to rot.

One bad apple...

And then I thought about my days working in North Carolina as a social worker.  Before I worked in the prenatal clinic I had worked at a different location qualifying people for food stamps.  I remember there was a lady there named Julie who was one of the most negative people I had ever met.  She was always talking about how bad the work was. She was always complaining about the people.  She was always always gossiping about others in the office... and her negativity seemed to spread out among the other workers.  JUST LIKE THAT APPLE in the bag!  

Julie was one of the main reasons that drove me to look for a new job!  Thankfully - I found one working in the County's prenatal department - and in THAT job I was surrounded by WONDERFUL people.  It made all the difference in the world.

As I made my stuffing I thought of Jesus' word to his disciples, "Be careful," Jesus said to them.  "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  - Matthew 16:6

Jesus was warning them that wrong teachings and doctrine can influence wrongly, and that hanging out with those who sin, will most often lead to sinning yourself.

Like the disciples we must "be on our guard," and that means we must have a measuring stick to gauge whether what we are seeing, hearing and doing is right in God's eyes.  That measuring stick is the Bible.

If your Bible has been sitting in a bookshelf or on a table, if it is covered in dust and does not have well worn pages, it's time to break it out.  For if you rely on weekly (or less than weekly) church services, or your own moral conscience to guide you, then you are likely to absorb some of the rot that pervades our world each day.  You are likely to become a bad apple!


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