Are You “Small Stepping” into Sin?

My friend, Bobby Simpson, recently passed on to me this most helpful quote: “Small steps consistently taken in the same direction will carry you a long way.” While that point is true, it must come with one caveat: we need to be mindful of the direction in which we are taking even the small steps.

Some pretty famous Biblical characters had some obvious sinful moments. Moses had anger issues and even murdered someone once. David got lazy, didn’t turn from lust, and eventually committed adultery. As physically powerful as was Samson, his pride and moral weakness led him to defeat. Scripture records many others who experienced moments of sin and disobedience, but I do not remember not even ONE person in the Bible waking up one day and saying, “Today I am going to go out and sin and disobey God.” As a matter of fact, their sins, just like mine and yours are the product of a slow, unnoticeable, gradual drift of our hearts away from God.

Small steps taken in the WRONG direction will carry us a long way to sin. None of us while walking closely to the Lord decide to abruptly change course and plunge headlong into sin. Yet, I have witnessed (and to some thankfully small degree experienced) the effects of a life that continues a dangerous and tragic drift away from God. James 1:14 reminds us that each of us is tempted when we are “lured” and “enticed” by our own evil desires. Drift. Small steps. Wrong direction. Spiritual catastrophe.

With that in mind, today, I want to encourage all of us to mind the little things in our lives. Take a daily inventory of where you are in relation to God. Consider a daily examination of the following areas and accompanying verses.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step…even the journey into sin. Watch where you are stepping.