On the Western slopes of the Rocky Mountains, a giant Sequoia lies rotting. It was a growing sapling when Christ walked the shores of Galilee. When Columbus discovered America, it was reaching maturity and it looked down from lofty heights during the American Civil War. It seemed destined to live many more centuries.
Then, a few years ago, a tiny beetle started to burrow into its bark and lay eggs that would produce other beetles. It seemed like an unequal battle at first, but the few beetles multiplied into hundreds, then into thousands, and finally into millions. First they attacked the bark, then they worked deeper into the trunk, and finally, they were eating the very heart and strength of that magnificent forest giant.
Then one day, after withstanding the elements for centuries, the rain came, the winds blew, the lightning flashed, and the giant tree fell. Not because of the elements, but because of the weakening effects of those tiny beetles.
Bad habits do the same thing to people. They slowly take a toll, until the day comes when the man or woman fall like that giant tree.
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