Apparently, it's an animal kind of week.

The other day, I wrote about a guy that got killed when he jumped into blood to swim with some sharks. Today, I thought I'd write about a family that allowed their dog to get eaten by a python. We'll call it animal week. Maybe a hedgehog will do something weird tomorrow and we can finish the week out with a consistent theme.

Here's a very quick summary of the story from CNN:
A 16 foot python swallowed a family dog whole in front of two kids.

That's a tragic story. I mean, the idea of a snake eating a Chihuahua is not a pleasant image. I agree, gross, but there is something I that I think is interesting about this whole thing. In the middle of the story, the owner of the Australian Venom Zoo (which by the way is my new favorite zoo down under said three things:

1. "It (the snake) actively stalked the dog for a number of days," Douglas said.

Isn't this true of temptation? Temptation is small and slow and patient, but like a snake sneaking up on us, it often catches us unaware.

2. "The family that owned the dog had actually seen it in the dog's bed, which was a sign it was out to get it," he added.

I'm weird, but if I found a snake that was 16 feet long in my dog's bed, I'd be nervous. I would notice it and probably call someone to get rid of it. But how often do we have the same reaction to temptation? We see a glimmer of it, we brush against it lightly and realize it's huge and big and potentially dangerous but we decide not to do anything.

3. "They should have called me then, but (the snake) got away and three or four days later, I was called and went around and removed it" after the dog had been killed, Douglas said.

As my grandfather used to say, "It's too late to do anything when your dog is already half way inside a snake." And that's true of temptation too. When you've already accepted money you don't deserve from a shady business deal or kissed someone that is not your husband, it's too late to avoid temptation. You're in the middle of a mess.

I promise that next week if a kangaroo punches someone in the face I won't write a post about it, but this week, remember the dangers of sharks and snakes, temptation and sin. They're not that different.