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Are you familiar with the term “money pit”? I’m pretty sure I have one! To be sure that my understanding of money pit is the same as yours, let me clarify what it means to me. First it must be understood what it is not– it is not a pit filled with an inexhaustible and accessible supply of twenty dollar bills. Instead, it is like a bucket with the bottom knocked out so that whatever you put into it goes straight through; it constantly demands that you put more into it, but you never gain any headway.

My current money pit is in the form of an old car–the same one that I mentioned in a recent writing. At the time it had developed a problem that I was reasonably sure would be too costly to repair so I was contemplating taking it to the junkyard. However, after a little investigation I discovered what the problem was and was able to take care of it myself. That also meant there was material to buy, which was a deposit into the money pit. As I was working on that issue I found that the battery was no good, so I had to put more into the proverbial bucket with no bottom. That got the old clunker rolling again—somewhat! It wasn’t long after that when one of the headlights went out, but thankfully it was a common bulb and not one of those super expensive varieties on newer vehicles. Nevertheless, when those small deposits go into the money pit on a regular basis they add up quickly. Good fortune was on my side and the bulb was easy to get to, but unfortunately I found that the wires to the socket were not in good condition. After some patching up the headlight works fine for now, but I think I see yet another deposit to the money pit not far down the road! Perhaps I should have stuck with my original plan and took it on a one way trip to the junkyard so it doesn’t–little by little–rob me blind!!

There are things in life that eat away at us incrementally until we look back and see that a huge accumulation of damage has occurred before we realized it. The Book of Song of Songs in the Old Testament acknowledges that it is the little foxes that spoil the vines: “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom” (2:15, New International Version). Those little foxes might have looked innocent—even cute—but the accumulated damage that they could inflict was devastating.

We only have an allotted amount of time, energy, and opportunity to accomplish anything of lasting value in life, so we cannot afford to allow our time and efforts to be dwindled away on things that are not part of God’s plan for us. Like the money pit that continues to steal and the little foxes that eat away and destroy, becoming distracted away from our walk with God can bankrupt us spiritually.

A key means to us staying focused spiritually is to stay spiritually alert, always being watchful regarding what we value and allow into our hearts. Paul gave Timothy this sound advice: “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16). When we are watchful we become aware when we veer off track and little things start to erode us spiritually.

What should we watch for? The two things Paul warned Timothy about are important for us too: watch how we live—what we do, what we think about, how we use our time, and watch what we believe—make sure that our belief system is based solidly on the Word of God. By doing so, we will be aware of the things that are stealing from us spiritually little by little and take action to get back on course.