Who first spoke of slippery slopes?

 

                                "The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein

                                  forever. The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom

                                  and his tongue talketh of judgment. The law of his God

                                 is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide." Psa. 37:29-31

There is a phrase I've heard used of late and I'm going to use it as the catalyst for today's lesson. The phrase to which I refer is "Slippery Slopes." I don't know about you, but I have no problem understanding the meaning of that phrase. I've been on "slippery slopes" several times in my life, as I'm sure you have also.

There are lots of natural "slippery slopes" about for us to discover. Icy sidewalks for one. I grant you that here in SoCal we have very few icy sidewalks, but they do sometimes occur. Especially in the mountains when you happen upon a phenomenon known as "black ice." Whoa Nellie, I'm here to tell you that you can be in for Mr. Toad's Wild Ride if you're not careful.

Back in the mid-west part of the country one sees a little sign on all the bridges one comes to that reads: "CAUTION - ice forms on the bridge first." Trust me, it does. But, you know, mud, snow or even fallen leaves have sent me "sliding" down the slope too. I don't like to slip and slide and especially don't like to fall. Cal. Tech doesn't like me falling either. They say it upsets their seismographs.

But, let's talk for a few minutes today about some Biblical "sliding." Or, maybe we could refer to it as "Spiritual sliding." Probably the first Bible reference I think of is something we see as a very poignant picture in Deuteronomy that's called "The Song of Moses." It's basically a song detailing the final prophecy of Moses and, as you read it you almost hear a funeral dirge for Israel being sung. After all his efforts in behalf of his people Israel, think how sad Moses must have felt to be prophesying these words. Read this in chapter 32.

He talks about the wonderful things that God had done for the people and yet when they "waxed fat" they forsook Him. This is after He cared for them as an eagle that watches over her chicks. After they had been provided all of the good things of life. They shot off into idolatry and God was very displeased with their attitude. So much so that He said "I will heap mischiefs (disasters) on them; I'll spend my arrows upon them." (Verse 23)

I don't know about you, but I'd just as soon NOT have The Lord piling disasters on me and shooting His arrows at me. I'm going to assume that He's a pretty good marksman. See Israel was sitting nice and safe, not to mention fat and wealthy, but then they stepped out on the "slippery slope" of idolatry. The "slippery slope" of wanting to be like their neighbors around them. Wanted to be like the "Jones's".

God, through Moses, warned them about this "slippery slope" they were getting out on. That they were getting themselves involved with, and into, things that were not only bad for them, but was going to bring them harm if they persisted in running around out there on that "slope." He warned them that there were some absolutely terrible thing stored up for their punishment if they didn't straighten up.

But you know, He knew that they would go right on trying to keep their balance out there on that "slippery slope." Look at what He says in verse 35: "To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time..." Then He sort mocks them and says (I'm paraphrasing) "now that you're sliding and falling, where are your gods. Obviously they can't do you any good."

Well, don't you think a lot of people today are pretty much like the Israel that Moses is "singing" about in his song? And you know what, we can also find ourselves out on a "slippery slope" sometimes, can't we? It's easy to say, "nah, I won't do anything like they did," but when you say that, remember what Peter said; "Me, Lord, no way, not me Lord."

And when you think about it, we've got a lot of "slippery slopes" in the world today that can easily cause us "mischiefs." Just take a moment and think of some. A few that immediately come to my mind are "slopes" like "euthanasia." Are we getting to the point in our society where it's OK to arbitrarily kill someone who is sick. You don't want to open that door. Pretty soon, there'll be "others" who can decide whether you are worthy of being kept alive.

I'm not even going to address the "slope" of same-sex marriage. Where that can lead to is downright scary, not to mention vile. But the "slope" of same-sex marriage is just part and parcel of the "slope" of moral declivity pervading our society. We have lowered the standards of just about everything to do with society today and in so doing, have created a myriad of "slippery slopes."

Here in California there's a measure on the ballot to legalize marijuana.  If that's not a "slippery slope" I don't know what is.  Here's an opinion from a retired police officer who used to enforce our state's narcotics laws:  marijuana is a "Controlled Substance."  There are very valid reasons for it being "controlled."  Why then, would we as a society, want to make something that's dangerous to society, both healthwise and in many other ways "uncontrolled?"  With all my heart and mind, I just don't want to see our society kick over that "proverbial rock."  To step out there on that particular "slippery slope."

Yeah, maybe some might say that they're not like old Israel, they're not worshiping idols, but guess what? It doesn't matter what the name of the "slippery slope" is that you're treading, rest assured that "your foot will slide in due time." And when that "time" comes, you'll wish that you hadn't found out what "mischiefs/disasters" the Lord has stored up for "sliders" and you'll, no doubt, find out just how good an "arrow" shooter God is.

Ron Covey