The Guests I Didn’t Invite

I didn’t invite these unwelcome guests into our home.

Yet here they were.

Haemophilus influenzae, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), rhinitis, and streptococcus pneumoniae. The invaders were two viruses and two bacteria that infected everyone in our home.

We’re still getting over their month-long visit that resulted in our fevers, sore throats, coughing, nausea, body aches, fatigue, and an overabundance of malaise.

Even though these undesirable guests kept me from writing for most of November, they did make me think about the times I have unwittingly but willingly invited unwelcome guests into my life. That brought to mind the fable of a young girl on her way to grandmother’s house. (Note this is not the story with the wolf.)

A Very Sad Story

A young girl was trudging along a mountain path, trying to reach her grandmother’s house. It was bitter cold, and wind cut like a knife. When she was within sight of her destination, she heard a rustle at her feet. Looking down, she saw a snake.

Before she could move, the snake spoke to her. He said, “I’m about to die. It is too cold for me up here, and I am freezing. There is no food in these mountains, and I am starving. Please put me under your coat and take me with you.”

“No,” replied the girl. “If I pick you up, you will bite me, and your bite is poisonous.”

“No, no,” said the snake. “If you help me, you will be my best friend. I will treat you differently.”

The little girl sat down on a rock for a moment to rest and think things over. She looked at the beautiful markings on the snake and had to admit that it was the most beautiful snake she had ever seen.

Suddenly, she said, “I believe you. I will save you. All living things deserve to be treated with kindness.”

The little girl reached over, put the snake gently under her coat and proceeded toward her grandmother’s house. Within a moment, she felt a sharp pain in her side. The snake had bitten her.

“How could you do this to me?” She cried, “You promised that you would not bite me if I would protect you from the bitter cold!”

The snake hissed, “You knew what I was when you picked me up,” and slithered away.

Unintended Guests

This fable echoes a truth we may sometimes forget: Sin always reveals its nature. It can speak softly. It can appear beautiful. It can appeal to our compassion, our curiosity, or our desire for control. But no matter how gently it approaches or how convincingly it promises to behave, sin is always sin.

Scripture never treats sin as neutral. It describes sin as something that harms, deceives, entangles, hardens, blinds, and destroys. Sin doesn’t stay small. It doesn’t stay manageable. It doesn’t stay where we put it. Sin grows. It spreads. It reshapes our thoughts, our affections, our relationships, and even our view of God.

It may begin with a compromise we make, a thought we entertain, or a desire we allow to linger. But in time, like the snake, it strikes.

No, we didn’t mean to invite it into our lives. But here it is, nonetheless.

Have You Invited Them In?

We don’t always recognize these guests the moment we open the door. Sometimes they slip in quietly, wrapped in excuses or emotions that feel justified. But once inside, they settle in and make themselves at home.

Maybe you’re acquainted with some of these unwanted guests who make promises they do not keep:

Bitterness grows when we rehearse the hurt instead of releasing it to God. Left unchecked, it poisons more than the original wound.

“See to it that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” Hebrews 12:15

Pride settles in the moment we shift trust from God’s strength to our own. It blinds us to our need for Him.

“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” James 4:6

Greed starts with a craving for more than God has given. It slowly reshapes our desires until contentment feels out of reach.

“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.” Luke 12:15

Envy begins with wanting what belongs to someone else and progresses to resentment of the person who has it, draining your peace and distorting your view of God’s goodness.

“Envy rots the bones.” Proverbs 14:30

Lust slips in through small allowances, but desire always grows when fed.

“Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.” James 1:14

Laziness begins with postponing what matters—prayer, spiritual disciplines, obedience. Delay becomes drift, and drift becomes distance.

“The sluggard’s cravings will be the death of him.” Proverbs 21:25

Worry disguises itself as responsibility. But as we focus more on our fears than on God’s faithfulness, we see its true nature: distrust.

“Do not be anxious about anything… but present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6

People-pleasing comes from a desire to be liked but is actually a need for approval, leading us to bend our lives around expectations of others instead of obedience to God.

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God?” Galatians 1:10

Self-pity narrows our vision until all we see is our own disappointment. It numbs us to God’s nearness and blinds us to His hope.

“Put your hope in God.” Psalm 42:5

Unforgiveness may feel self-protective, but it keeps us tied to the very hurt we want freedom from.

“Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Colossians 3:13

Recognizing Their True Nature

All 10 of these unwanted guests are like the snake on the mountain path—promising comfort, relief, justification, or a better life, but carrying a nature that cannot be anything other than destructive. They sting, they poison, and they steal the life God intends for us to enjoy.

Sin whispers promises it never intends to keep.

Only God can be trusted.

The more we know God’s love and goodness, the less likely we are to be deceived by promises that cannot satisfy. The more we know God’s truth, the better we can recognize the counterfeit for what it is.

Isn’t it time to kick out those guests that we’ve mistakenly invited into our lives?

May the truth of God’s Word guard our steps, and may His unfailing love lead us into the freedom we were created to enjoy.