Surely wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briers and thorns, it sets the forest thickets ablaze, so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke. – Isaiah 9:18

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 3, 2017): Isaiah 9

Original Smokey Bear Poster

Smokey Bear, later Smokey the Bear, burst onto the scene in 1944 in the United States. The Forest Service needed to find a way to get the forest fire message out to the people. The truth was that, as the war continued, there simply was not the workforce needed to fight wildfires on the West Coast. Added to that was the fact that the Japanese sought to use domestic forest fires in the United States as a weapon of war. The American hope was that by making the public aware of what they could do to prevent forest fires, the public would understand that, through fire prevention, they were helping the war effort. In 1942, Disney released “Bambi” a story about a young fawn caught in a Forest Fire, and Disney allowed the use of the image of Bambi in fire prevention messages, but only for a year. What was needed was a dedicated ambassador for fire safety. That ambassador became Smokey, the Bear. 

Today it is estimated that 95% of adults and 77% of children recognize Smokey the Bear and his message in the United States. Smokey has become a much-loved icon – and his message has made a difference, at least on some of us. (I am always worried about whether or not the fire is out and still today I employ methods of fire prevention that I learned straight from Smokey.)

The problem with forest fires is that it often doesn’t take much for an uncontrolled fire to start. As the old campfire song says, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going.” And a small spark can spread, at first through other “small” things. But soon, even the tallest trees of the forest are in real danger from the fire. Every year we watch as communities are evacuated, and homes are destroyed because of an uncontrolled spark that started a fire somewhere.

Isaiah uses this illustration of a forest fire to instruct us on how wickedness can work its way into our lives and our culture. It always starts small, but it doesn’t seem to take long before our entire lives have been consumed. Countless counseling sessions have included the confession that something small started the fire that has now destroyed countless lives. Marriage breakups seldom start with the big things that eventually cause the divorce. They start with some small things that should never have been allowed to be present in the first place.

We all need a Smokey in our lives. A reminder not to let the “little sins” go by unnoticed. Because they will not stay little for long. Soon the fire they start will consume all of the good that is present in our lives. 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah 10