photo #8919152

The Tree-killing WormWhile touring a park of towering trees, a guide pointed out one. “That fine tree,” he said, “was killed by a single worm.”We learned that two years previously, the tree was as healthy as any in the park. A wood worm, about three inches long, was observed to be forcing its way under the bark of the trunk. It caught our guide's eye. Although he was warned that the worm could kill the tree, our guide left it alone, as he found it improbable that the black-headed worm could do such damage.Over time, it was found that his assumption was wrong. The worm indeed had tunneled its way a considerable distance under the bark. The next summer, the tree's leaves dropped very early, and the following year it was a dead, rotten tree.I am reminded that there is a lesson to be learned from that tree’s demise. How many have ruined their lives by a single, harmlessly appearing sin! But, eventually, it brought ruin and shame to the committer.