Neglect is a deadly thing. A heartbreaking story to illustrate this truth is the story of Aberfan, Wales, which some will remember. For one hundred years a coal slag heap piled up behind the village of Aberfan. The people of the area knew the danger it imposed, yet no one paid much attention to it as it mounted up to five hundred feet. Everyone neglected it until one day rain loosened the mass and, unseen in the fog, it slid into the village and crushed the village school. A whole generation of children was wiped out.
Just neglect—doing nothing about the little growing pile of slag—caused the deaths of hundreds of precious Welsh children. The adults of Aberfan worked frantically around the clock to dig out the children; people around the world sent help, but it was too late.
In the things of God, neglect is even more deadly because it deals with eternal things. Neglect of spiritual decisions can mean eternal separation from God.