When we have been Christians for a long time, it is easy for us to unconsciously slip into carelessness when it comes to our sanctification. Some of us were raised as Christians; and although we were sinners who needed saving, just like anyone else, we don’t have much of a “past” to speak of. Others of us were saved long ago, and our life of sin is a distant memory. When we look back over our lives, we should of course rejoice because of where God brought us from. Thank God that we are not still chained to the sins we once were; thank God we aren’t who we used to be!

But if we are not careful, we can use our past sinfulness to nonchalantly excuse our current sinfulness. We can begin to think, “Well, at least I’m not like that any more; the little problems I have now aren’t that big of a deal.” Our present sins seem little by comparison, and so we leave them unaddressed. As soon as we notice this kind of attitude in ourselves, we do well to remember what Solomon said in Song of Songs 2:15:

“Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.”

I want to encourage my fellow Christians to hunt down and deal with the “little” sins that remain in our lives. Maybe we don’t murder people, or go on weekend benders, or live in sexual debauchery: this doesn’t mean that we are righteous, or that the Lord is pleased with our lives. Here are some “small sins,” in no particular order, that we would do well to capture when we seen them in our vineyard.

Laziness

Many people do not take the sin of laziness seriously. More than once I have heard people laughingly say about themselves, “I’m so lazy”—as if their laziness were a joke to be giggled at instead of a sin to be corrected. We go to our jobs and do the bare minimum, even though the Lord has told us that “whatsoever we do,” we should “do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men” (Col 3:22-24). If Jesus was our boss, would he be satisfied with our performace?

We excuse ourselves: I’m not really lazy. I’m just a little lazy. But Solomon has already warned us in Proverbs 6 “Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: so shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man” (v. 11-12). A little laziness can have big consequences.

Pride

Paul warns us about pride (and wickedness in general) in 1 Corinthians 5 when he writes, “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” (v. 6). It only takes a little yeast to make an entire lump of dough puff-up. Given enough time, that little bit of yeast works its way through the entire lump: there is not one square inch that is uneffected. The same also with pride; the presence of even a little will fundamentally change who we are.

Even a quick study of pride in the Bible will show how destructive this little sin is. Whenever we realize that we are developing pride about anything—even about holy things like how much we pray or how often we read the Bible—we must cry out to God to purge us from this sin. Pride is one of the things that Jesus says that he hates (Prov 8:13). No flesh will glory in God’s presence; and Satan was cast from heaven because of his attempts at self-exaltation (Isa 14:12ff).

How We Talk

James 3 reminds us of the power of our speech: “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell” (vv. 5-6). Likewise, Proverbs 18:21 tells us that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

How many times have we allowed a “corrupt communication” to come from our mouth (Eph 4:29)? Do we talk about things that glorify God and build up our brother? Or do we, like the children of Israel, continually murmur? A passing comment has the potential to damage our witness or to put someone off from the church. Let’s not forget that we will give account for “every idle word…in the day of judgement” (Matt 12:36). What we say can seem so little, until we consider it in the light of eternity. Is calling our brother “fool” really worth the “danger of hell fire” (Matt 5:22)?

How We use our time

In our digital age, it is so easy to squander time. I am just as guilty as the next guy. But all our little moments of wasted time add up; and now, if ever, we ought to obey Paul’s command and start “redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Eph 5:16). Time is one of the few things that we can never get more of. We can all work more hours to earn more money. Anyone can be more friendly and make more friends. But nobody can live past the date God has ordained for them: “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb 9:27).

Let’s purpose in our hearts to be on our devices less. Trust me, if you log out of Facebook or Twitter, those places will not miss you. But time spent in prayer, moments spent with family, the hours devoted to evangelism or study of the scriptures—these are the things that endure.

The reason for the hunt

The list of “little foxes” could be multiplied almost indefinitely—including things like doubt, folly, unfaithfulness, what we think, and how we entertain ourselves. The point of this post is not to list all of the possible problems; not only is doing so impossible, but it borders on the legalistic. What is more, since we all struggle with different sins, everyone is going to have a slightly different pack of foxes in their garden. What matters most is that we keep our eyes open for whatever foxes we happen to deal with—and that we remember the reason for the hunt.

Notice why Solomon is concerned about “little foxes:” there is a harvest to protect. “Our vines have tender grapes.” The harvest trope usually refers to two different things in scripture: 1) it refers to the righteousness exhibited in our personal lives (think Fruit of the Spirit), and 2) it refers to the souls of men (think “I am the vine, ye are the branches” and “the harvest is plenteous”). These two things are precisely the reason why we must be alert to small foxes in our vineyard.

I need to hunt out the small foxes in my vineyard so that my life can produce righteousness for the Lord. It is the Father’s will that we produce much fruit—and that through these good deeds, he is glorified. And, I need to hunt out small foxes so that lost souls can be won to the Lord. Heaven help me if my little laziness or my little pride has compromised my witness and caused people to turn away from Christ.

Let’s examine our lives, brothers and sisters. We have a harvest to protect, and “big” sins like adultery and murder aren’t the only foxes that want to destroy it. With Christ’s help we must capture even the “little” sins in our life, so that our sanctification may be complete and the harvest may come to maturity. Go find your little foxes. Happy hunting!