“Leave It to Beaver” was a classic 1950’s TV show. No, it was not about wildlife – it was about a suburban family with two kids, older brother Wally and a slightly off-beat son affectionately called “Beaver.” Recently, a new “Beaver” series surfaced on cable TV. Someone told me about one new show where “Beaver” gets a new bicycle – and he loses a new bicycle. Big brother Wally asks “the Beaver” what happened to his bike. Beaver tells him about this kid who asked if he could use his bike to show him some neat tricks. The problem was that, with every trick, the kid went a little farther with the bicycle. You can probably guess what trick he was going to do … he disappeared with the bicycle. Beaver says, “You know, He stole it a little bit at a time.”
I want to have A Word With You today about “Losing It Gradually.” There’s another thief who operates with that same modus operandi – Satan. He wants to steal from you your closeness to God and all the benefits that go with doing things God’s way. He is, the Bible says, the “roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8) and the “thief” who comes “only to steal, kill and destroy.” (John 10:10). Beaver would have tried to stop that boy if he had just tried to run off with his bike. But he didn’t resist when the thief stole it “a little bit at a time.” The devil knows that strategy. And he may be stealing from you right now – and you can’t see what he’s doing because it’s gradual. Until one day you’ll wonder how you lost it all.
We would never let him do it if he tried to do it all at once. But could it be that you have slowly let your mind and your heart, your attention, your attitude wander away from God’s way? Please – open your eyes and see what’s happening – before you go any deeper … before it’s harder to stop … before you pay the very high price that’s just ahead. The thief is trying to steal your soul a little bit at a time. Don’t let it happen!