Perhaps you have read recently in the various news outlets about the fellow who decided that he was going to kiss a cottonmouth snake. His name is Austin Hatfield of Wimauma, FL. As the report stated, “Friends said that Hatfield had captured the snake from his girlfriend’s yard several days before and was keeping it in a pillowcase. Hatfield occasionally took the snake out to kiss it on the mouth, but on Saturday, the snake decided to end the relationship.” The victim was checked into Tampa General Hospital soon afterward, and was in critical condition at first. His face was swollen beyond recognition. After a frightening experience with venom poisoning, severe swelling and much pain, he was expected to survive the ordeal. I would venture, however, that he is not likely to repeat this mistake again anytime soon. This time he had a close brush with death; next time he may not be so fortunate.

I am from the South and all of my life I have had to be around snakes, poisonous as well as non-venomous. But I must tell you that I have never once been tempted to kiss one of them, of either variety. But the kissing of snakes is quite common in certain parts of the world. Hatfield had probably seen snake charmers from India on TV kissing cobras after having sufficiently “charmed” them in order to get close enough to do so.

If you are planning to live to a ripe old age, it is not the sort of thing that you should attempt. Only the most skilled of charmers will risk putting their face into such close proximity to those dangerous fangs! Personally, no amount of money could get me to do such a thing. Risk aversion is one of the keys to long life. The Bible asks the question, “Can a man take fire in his bosom, And his clothes not be burned?” (Pro 6:27) An old saying goes, “If you play with fire, you are going to get burned.”

Speaking of avoiding risks, the fact is that there are many people who play foolish games with spiritual risks, just as if they were snake kissers themselves. For you see, snake kissing comes in many forms. All of us have known of people who realize the dangers associated with evil doing, and they will attempt to enjoy the company of sinners while hoping to avoid possible contamination or else death by association. Their plan does not always work.

Have you heard of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre of 1929? One part of that story is particularly interesting in this regard. Two gangs of Chicago thugs, the gang of Bugs Moran and that of Al Capone, were at the center of this prohibition-era slaying that left six people dead. Four of the men who were murdered by the Capone gang were mob associates. Two were not. One was a mechanic named John May who was out of work and occasionally did mechanical work for the gang. The other was a fellow named Reinhardt Schwimmer, who was an optician. He enjoyed betting on horses and “hanging around” with mobsters. These two fellows were considered to be unintended victims of the gang war. But both of them ended up just as dead as if they had been actual members of the Moran gang themselves.

It does not pay to get too close to sin! You may get caught up in the mayhem that follows it and often attends it. The Bible says, “Evil companions corrupt good morals” (1 Cor. 15:33).

Still other people like to do everything short of actually committing the sin itself. They play fast and loose with definitions of words and in the end do things that at the very least are questionable in nature and at the worst are close to the thin red line that defines wrongdoing. Their practices are tantamount to snake kissing. Eventually they will be bitten, that much is sure. We cannot play games with sin. The devil is called in Scripture “that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan” (Rev. 20:2). You cannot play poker with Satan and win for long. Eventually he will bite you, and when he does you may well wish that you had never been born. Snake kissing is a game for fools.