Forgive me, but this is a very Canadian story. In what’s being called the “Great Maple Syrup Mystery”, over 3000 tonnes of the liquid gold were stolen by a group of sticky individuals. You might not think that’s a big deal, but the total value was over 18 million dollars. That’s a lot of pancakes!
This week, the reputed ring leader was found guilty of theft, fraud and trafficking in stolen goods. How did they get away with it until now? By stealing just a little bit at a time. They set up a system that took a little bit here and a little bit there. They drained a few barrels at a time and replaced the syrup with water. It was a long time before anyone caught on to what was happening. By then, the crew of criminals had made a pile of money selling the maple syrup on the black market. I didn’t know there was a black market for maple syrup, but maybe that’s just a Canadian thing.
Often in life, we don’t tend to notice the small changes. Like the proverbial frog in a kettle, we don’t notice the gradual change in temperature that could boil us to death. Sometimes, we just aren’t as attentive to matters as we should be. The cooperative responsible for selling the maple syrup admitted it wasn’t paying enough attention to its inventory. Thieves took advantage of that carelessness.
The Bible points out a number of things we should be on alert for:
- Watch out for false prophets and teachers – Matthew 7:15
- Watch out for any form of greed – Luke 12:15
- Watch your words and hold your tongue – Proverbs 21:23
- Watch the company you keep, for “bad company corrupts morals” – 1 Corinthians 15:33
- Watch and pray that you don’t enter temptation – Matthew 26:49
It’s easy for someone to steal from us when we aren’t paying attention. It’s easy to drift from our convictions when we aren’t watching them. Don’t allow the Thief to take what’s important and leave you feeling drained.