The Rotten Apple

By Kim Harms

My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight.

Proverbs 3:21NIV

“Ewww. Gross!” Jeff hollered from the deck.

He had just watched his little brother Paul sink his teeth into an apple he found on the ground beneath Grandma’s apple tree. Jeff rushed to Paul’s side just as the five-year-old grimaced and spit the bite of rotten apple into the grass.

With a trickle of apple juice dribbling down his chin, Paul looked from the discarded fruit on the ground up into Jeff’s eyes. “That apple looked yummy, but it was gross.”

Many things look good at first glance, just like the apple. Paul saw a shiny apple on the ground, but he didn’t look close enough to discover the rotten underside.

Sometimes we focus on shiny things like TV shows and reading material. Things can seem attractive simply because we don’t look close enough—like buying a magazine just because our favorite athlete is on the cover only to find that the advertisements inside are inappropriate. Or,  choosing to watch a television show because the kids at school say it is funny, only to find out that the content is not pleasing to God.

Using wisdom and discernment means taking a serious look at what we read or what we watch before we make decisions we regret. No one wants to mistakenly sink their teeth into a rotten apple.

Kim Harms lives in Huxley, Iowa with her husband and three rambunctious sons.  Her living room doubles as a wrestling arena.  Her garage is filled with weapons made of sticks. And her knowledge of professional football far exceeds that of the average woman.