Termites

They are more adept at a sneak attacks than Gideon's army, better skyscraper constructors than New York City's premier construction industry, and, like a snowstorm quiet enough to not wake a sleeping baby yet destructive enough to bring entire infrastructures to their knees. Ants in the cupboard is one thing; termites in the foundation is totally another.  One means you may have to buy a new box of cereal; the other means you may have to buy a new house.  They don't sting, bite, spit venom and are not all that intimidating unless viewed under a microscope. Yet they can destroy living quarters without any of the normal artillery of the insect world. Extremely furtive, almost always unseen, and ruthlessly vicious without any intent other than to satisfy their hunger, they can literally take your legs out from under you...that is, if your house rests on stilts.  In much the same way patterns and habits, good or bad, can form deep grooves in our lives virtually unnoticed until it's too late. If it was a good habit, then great...suddenly your deltoids and biceps are appreciably bigger even though you couldn't tell but everyone else could. But if bad...we'll, you do the math - let's just say that you don't net positive.  "Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall." (1 Cor. 10:12)