A Dangerous Plant
In the jungle, a strange plant can be found. It is called the strangler fig. This plant starts as a tiny seed. These seeds are delicious food for birds and they spread them far and wide when they are flying. When one of the tiny seeds is dropped by a bird and falls onto a tree trunk, the poor tree’s future changes. The seed puts out threadlike roots which get nourishment from the air.
At first the strangler fig is small and looks harmless, but it grows quickly. Soon it has shoots going both up into the air and down into the soil. Large leaves develop which keep sunlight from the tree. Its roots entwine themselves around the tree trunk stealing nourishment from it. The strangler fig gets bigger and bigger. It gets stronger and stronger. It becomes more and more of a threat to the survival of the tree. Gradually it strangles the tree to death.
This dangerous plant reminds us of bad habits. They seem so harmless at first, but oh, how quickly they grow! Maybe it is not keeping your promises, putting things off, or never being on time. Maybe it is a little lie, stealing something, or cheating at school. Like the strangler fig, these habits become stronger and stronger. The bad habits that brought momentary pleasure become entwined in our lives. They strangle us. We eventually become their slaves. The famous seventeenth century poet, John Dryden, made this sage observation, “First we make our habits, and then our habits make us.”
