The Milder the Label, the Deadlier the Poison

After a minister had spoken strongly against sin one morning, one of his members said, "We don't want you to talk so plainly about sin because if our boys and girls hear you mention it, they will more easily become sinners. Call it a mistake if you will, but do not speak so bluntly about sin."

The minister went to the medicine shelf and brought back a bottle of strychnine marked POISON. He said, "I see what you want me to do. You want me to change the label. Suppose I take off this 'poison' label and put on some mild label such as 'peppermint candy.' Can't you see the danger? The milder you make the label, the more deadly the poison."

During the last few years we have been putting a mild label on sin. We've called it "error," "negative action," and "inherent fault." But it is high time that we put a POISON label back on the poison bottle and not be afraid to be as plain as the Bible is about the tragic consequences of sin.

-- Billy Graham, Introduction to Freedom From the Seven Deadly Sins (Zondervan, 1966).

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