A Slow Fade Revisited

“If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.” ~ 1 Corinthians 10:12, NLT

I honestly believe that the majority of us don’t wake up one morning with an intention to sin. Nobody circles a particular date on their calendar in red and thinks, ‘THAT’S the day I’m going to start being disobedient to God!’  I can’t imagine anyone making deliberate future plans to thumb their nose at and walk away from God.  It’s never a case of one day you’re obedient, and the next day – BAM!! – you’re not.

It’s a slow fade......

Years ago, I was part of a weekly church Bible Study. The study was called ‘The Divided Kingdom and the Minor Prophets.’  Ho, hum....sounds a bit dry and dull, yes?  NO WAY!  It was anything BUT dry and dull. For several weeks, our lessons were focused on the book of 1 Kings, where we learned about the various kings who came along after King David, and their disobedience towards God.

Once, during our class discussion time, a woman said the following as an answer to a question on what she’d learned from the particular lesson about the dangers of being disobedient to God:

‘Small steps of compromise lead to big leaps of sin.’

Wise woman, that one. In other words – it’s a slow fade. And it can happen to the best of us.                   

“Don’t be so naïve and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else.” ~ 1 Corinthians 10:12, The Message

Compromise.  We give in a little here, bend a bit there. We start to slack off on beginning our mornings with God in prayer and quiet solitude, choosing to run or exercise, or maybe slip into work early to catch up on paperwork instead.  We start to cut down on time in God’s Word to binge watch the latest trending Netflix series everyone's been talking about, or to scroll mindlessly through Facebook and Instagram. We skip a few Bible studies because we’re behind on housework; ditch a few church services on Sundays to go to the beach or to maybe just to sleep in. Pretty soon, we start to lose sight of what’s right and wrong. Before we know it, God’s voice is far off in the distance, barely discernible to us. We wonder why. How did we wind up here?

It’s a slow fade.

Disobedience. We form a relationship with someone we shouldn’t. We begin to frequent places where we have no business going.  We partake of and become entangled with something we know is absolutely off limits to us. We think, ‘nothing will happen, I can handle myself.’ Or, ‘it’s no big deal.’  Oh, but it is, dear ones. Is it ever. 

Because one day, we look around and SURPRISE!! We find ourselves somewhere we never imagined we'd ever be: so very far from God and

• ashamed to admit
• afraid to admit
• refusing to admit

just how ensnared in and captive to disobedience and sin we've become. 

It's a slow fade.......

And take note: our disobedience affects EVERYONE around us. When we choose to disobey (and it IS a choice), we drag

Our loved ones

Our friends

Our classmates and coworkers

Our church and community

right down with us into the swirling vortex of sin and darkness, pain and devastation. The effects can be both short term and long term.  NO ONE escapes unscathed, my friends. Believe me -- I know, as I've often been the one affected by another's disobedience. And once upon a time, in my deep, dark past, I've been the disobedient one. 

But worst of all – it breaks and grieves the heart of our loving Abba Father.

Back to the Bible Study class: not only was I reading and learning about the perils of compromise and the fruit of disobedience there, but sadly – I was watching it being played out in real life, with a precious child of God, whom I knew and cared about, as the main character in a dark and twisted saga. She showed no remorse, no desire to come clean and repent, because she didn’t believe she was being disobedient. She didn't think she was doing anything wrong. She'd been thoroughly deceived.

Satan is the master deceiver.  Jesus once referred to him as ‘a liar and the father of lies’  (John 8:44).  He can make something or someone that is dangerous look so innocent.  Or something that is dark and ugly seem light and beautiful. Or something that is so wrong feel just so right. The old smoke and mirrors trick. He’s very good at this, because well, it’s his gig.  And he’s been at it for centuries, masquerading as an angel of light.

I’m certain my friend didn’t wake up one day and say to herself, “You know, I think I'm going to destroy my family today.  I’m going to deceive my loved ones, ruin my reputation, shatter my integrity and break God’s heart.”  I believe this precious one began to take small steps of compromise here and there that eventually led to her huge leap into disobedience.

I must admit -- I felt hurt by what she'd done. I felt angry and somehow, betrayed.  And very, VERY scared. Scared, because I was all too aware how easily something like that could happen to anyone. Could happen to me -- again. I felt so weak, so easily distracted, and I knew how effortlessly I could veer off the narrow road, given the chance.  At one point, I found myself crying out, "Please, Lord -- just keep me hidden and safe beneath Your wings until this danger has passed!!

“Stay alert!  Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.  He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” ~ 1 Peter 5:8, NLT

My brothers and sisters, how about you?  Are there areas of your life in which you find yourself all too willing to compromise? I BEG you not to be blind and deaf to the temptations that surround you. Be careful of who and what you allow into your mind, into your heart, into your life.  Don’t be unaware of the opportunities to compromise that the enemy WILL present to you on any given day, hissing in your ear that 'it's no big deal.' 

"Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Come hear to God and He will come near to you. ~ James 4:7-8, NIV

Keep close to Jesus. Run to Him, cling tightly to Him with everything you've got; hide yourself in Him. Immerse yourself in the Word of God every day, to remind you of Who God is (your loving, merciful, faithful, generous, mighty, compassionate, fair and just Father) and who you are (His treasured, honored and beloved child). Keep your eyes open to all He has for you.  Keep your ears open to what He says to you.  Remain on the alert and be aware of what you’re doing, where you’re headed, of the company you keep.

Because people never crumble in a day....it's a slow fade.