kudzu_house   Kudzu has been called “The Vine that Ate the South.” It is a fast growing vine that used to grow only in China. Kudzu was introduced to the United States in 1876 here in Philadelphia during the World’s Fair Centennial Exposition. Seven years later, it was highlighted again at the New Orleans Exposition. At first, it was marketed solely as an ornamental plant that could shade porches.

   Later, the Soil Erosion Service of the United States Department of Agriculture touted kudzu as way to keep topsoil from eroding steep slopes. That prompted the federal government to pay for the planting of 85 million seedlings. By 1946, it was estimated that the government had planted three million acres of kudzu in several southern states. Kudzu grows so fast (some claim by as much as a foot a day) that the United States Forest Service estimates that it covers an additional 2,500 acres every single year.

   Because kudzu is such a fast growing vine, it smothers and kills other living plants it overtakes, including trees. For this reason, in 1953 the United States Department of Agriculture stopped listing kudzu as a cover plant. Then in 1970 they began calling it a weed. It got so bad, eventually, that by 1997 kudzu was placed on the “Federal Noxious Weed List.”

   Kudzu was advertised as a miracle cure for soil erosion. Later, we find out that it is an uncontrollable, life-destroying plant. There is a lesson here for us.

   There are many things in life that are very appealing at first, but wind up causing great harm. Sexual sin is a good example. The Bible warns us that sin is deceiving. “The lips of an adulteress drip honey and smoother than oil is her speech” (Proverbs 5:3). This is still true today. The media constantly pictures sex as a casual activity free from any consequences. That is a lie!

   Solomon warns us in Proverbs 5:4-5 & 11 that giving in to sexual sin will bring bitterness into our lives, and it will be like a poison to our bodies (think STDs and HIV).

   Sexual sin is not the only sin that deceives us. When comedian John Belushi died in 1983 from an overdose of cocaine and heroin, this quote appeared in the U.S. News And World Report: “

[Cocaine] can do you no harm and it can drive you insane; it can give you status in society and it can wreck your career; it can make you the life of the party and it can turn you into a loner; it can be an elixir for high living and a potion for death.”

   It is easy to make light of sin and its consequences. The Bible calls that foolish, “Fools mock at sin…” (Proverbs 14:9). The Bible warns us that “… you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23).

   All sin is dangerous and deceiving, but all’s not lost. God came down into our broken, sinful world to rescue us. When Jesus died on the cross, He paid the eternal penalty for your sin. Repenting–turning away from your sin–and following Him will enable you to recognize the deadliness of sin and turn from it. There is complete forgiveness available when we have repented of our sin and turned to Christ. “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion” (Proverbs 28:13). The forgiveness that Jesus offers is able “…to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy” (Jude 24).

   Jesus Christ has the power to break the chains of any sin that may still have its grip on you. He has promised that, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31–32).

   The Manhattan Detention Complex, a municipal jail in New York City, was completed in 1838. Not long after that, the wealthy contractor who had finished the building was found guilty of forgery and sentenced to several years in that prison! As he walked into his cell the contractor said, “I never dreamed when I built this prison that I would be an inmate one day.”

   Those who make light of sin, who follow it and excuse it, will someday find themselves in a permanent, soul-destroying prison they have fashioned for themselves.

   Sin, like kudzu, appears innocent at first, but in the end it destroys. We are all guilty, but Jesus can set us free. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).