A few years ago, there was a TV show “When animals attack.” Often the show would depict wild animals attacking, such as a shark biting a surfer or if someone falls into a tiger’s cage at a zoo. However, the stories that are the most interesting are when pets turn on their owners. All Things Interesting cited a few examples.

One example is that a man, Marius Els, had a pet hippopotamus. Of course, this is a strange animal to have as a pet, but the man adopted the hippo at 5-months-old and named it Humphrey.

Marius once said, “It’s a little bit dangerous, but I trust him with my heart that he will not harm anybody,” Els said. “I can swim with him. I go in the water. He allows me to get on his back, and I ride him like a horse. He swims with me.”

In November 2011, Els’ body was discovered submerged in the river where Humphrey had first been rescued in a flood years earlier.

Unfortunately, this story is not different than something we do from time to time. I doubt many of you have a wild animal as a pet, but it is analogous to our relationship to a favorite pet sin. Maybe there is a sin you participate in, and you have kept it under control for a while. Maybe you have had the same sentiment as Marius, “It’s a little bit dangerous, but I trust it will my heart and it will not harm me.”

Instead of thinking of that thing as something to manage, God’s Word tells us it is an enemy trying to kill us. In fact, 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

What thing are you managing and enjoying that is waiting to kill you?