Have you met my pet alligator?

I was on a curiosity binge recently, and ended up searching Google for “the most dangerous pet in the world” which led to an article about the top 10 most dangerous legal exotic pets.

Number 9 on the list? Alligators.

Can we just back that up for a second? First, how is it possible that enough people have pet alligators to even be on this list, and how is it possible that any people have pet alligators?

Pet. Alligators.

Those things can kill you, and yet someone (well, enough someones to be ninth on a top ten list) thought they’d make a great house pet??

I’ve heard of – and owned – lap dogs, but a lap gator? That’s a hard pass for me.

The ridiculousness of it reminds me of something I saw recently on ESPN’s website the week before the Super Bowl. They started running banner ads at the top of the site from DraftKings telling people where to find help if they have a gambling addiction.

I’m all for helping people with an addiction, but DraftKings helping people with a gambling problem? It brought to my attention a recent television show that featured a main character being portrayed as a horrible person because he couldn’t stop drinking, but being seen that way by the very co-workers who would often end each shift by going out for drinks together.

Somebody make it make sense! Anybody?

Well, I’ll give it a shot. We’ve bought the lie that we can somehow manage the sin that Jesus came to destroy. God clearly tells us to get as far away from the sins that can kill us, and our response is that we’re smart enough to know our limits and that we can handle it.

We manage our sin until our sin manages us.

Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? (Proverbs‬ ‭6‬:‭27‬-‭28‬)

Call on me! Call on me! (Raises hand and tries to get the teacher’s attention) I know the answer! I know the answer!!!

It’s NO!!!

Friends, our Father knows the result of managed sin, and He paid a high price in Christ’s death and resurrection to free us from it. Not to play with it, but to run from it.

We don’t need pet gators any more than we need pet sins that we think we can control. What we need is a passion for Jesus and holiness that fuels us as we run as far from that stuff as we possibly can.

We need a generation to rise up and run away from sin, like Joseph did when Potiphar’s wife wanted to sleep with him while her husband was away.

She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. (Genesis‬ ‭39‬:‭12‬, emphasis mine)

Stop playing with and managing sin. Stop thinking you can feed it just enough to keep you happy, but not enough to make it grow. You can’t. There’s a way that seems right to us, but the end of that road is death (see Proverbs 14:12) because that’s our enemy’s endgame (see John 10:10).

Like a baby alligator, managed sin grows, and eventually, it grows into something that can – and more than likely, will – kill us.

The far better approach is to trust the truth spoken by the One Who already killed it first:

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Timothy‬ ‭2‬:‭22)

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