Alypius, a fourth-century music theorist, was often urged by his neighbors to watch the gladiators in combat. He refused because he abhorred the brutality of those barbaric contests.

One day, however, he was coerced to attend. Determined not to witness the gory spectacle, Alypius kept his eyes tightly closed. But a piercing cry prompted him to peek just as one of the fighters received a fatal wound. Author J. N. Norton comments, "[Alypius'] finer sensibilities were blunted, and he joined in the shouts and exclamations of the noisy mob about him. From that moment he was a changed man--changed for the worse; not only attending such sports himself, but urging others to do likewise."

Even though Alypius had entered the arena against his will, his exposure to evil shows what can happen to the best of people when they get one small taste of destructive pleasure. Before they realize it, they become enslaved.

The apostle Paul told Timothy to flee from evil (2 Tim. 2:22), to nip it in the bud. He knew that replacing evil desires by pursuing the righteous things of God is the best way to stay out of trouble.

The step that's worst is often that fatal first!  — Richard De Haan