"Slippery Slopes"

 

“Slippery Slopes”

 

Our New Hampshire church’s elders were once discussing an important issue which called for a decision. We committed the matter to God in prayer and began weighing our options. One team member whose discernment and insight we greatly respected observed, “Let’s be careful we don’t find ourselves on a slippery slope!” This made the rest of us more aware of the potential impact of our action and guided us towards a consensus which benefitted and protected our Body in the spirit of 1 Peter 5:1-4.

The Oxford English Dictionary dates the origin of “slippery slope” as 1951 but some have traced its usage back to Cicero, a first century BC Roman statesman and philosopher, to describe what he saw as the beginning of the Empire’s decline. The term refers to a series of events that’s difficult to stop or control once it begins and often worsens an already troubling set of circumstances. Paul posed this question to a troubled church: “Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?” (1 Corinthians 5:6). In a similar way, a small ill-advised action can lead to a great negative impact.

In 2 Chronicles 8 we read that even Solomon, despite all his God-given wisdom, found himself on a slippery slope. He’d finished building God’s temple, his palace and many cities and towns, making Israel the greatest nation of the era. But tucked into the middle of the account of his accomplishments was this: “Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter from the City of David to the palace he had built for her….” (Verse 11). One “small” step led to many others—“King Solomon…loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter…He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray…(and) turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God….” (1 Kings 11:1-4). His downward slide is recorded in Ecclesiastes in which he tells of trying everything imaginable to find purpose but it eluded him until he came to this conclusion of what life is all about: “…Fear God and keep his commandments, because this applies to every person.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13, NASB, emphasis added). Heeding this counsel will keep us off the slippery slopes (maybe bobsled runs) of this journey we call life. So let’s watch out for that first sliding step and stop before it’s too late.

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan