I've posted before about how small ethical lapses lead to larger ones, but I was recently reminded of a story that really drives this point home. When Abraham settled in the land God had promised him, his flocks and Lot's flocks had gotten so big that they had to separate. Even though Abraham had the right to choose first as the family elder, he let Lot decide where to live (and Abraham took what was left over). We all know the story of how evil Sodom and Gomorrah were and how God saved Lot as He destroyed the area.
Here's the fresh perspective that I have on this story. Lot was in Sodom because of a business decision. It was a little decision to choose the land that looked good rather than trust God and seek out righteous people to surround you. And from Genesis 19:1, we know that Lot must have continued to make those small decisions because he was a leader of the city by the time the angels came to rescue him--he wouldn't have been recognized as a leader if he wasn't integrated into the city.
In discussing this story, a friend mentioned the idea of a "slow creep" of decisions that led to Lot being in a position of needing to be rescued. Lot made a bad decision, one that seemed right by the world's standards but that was made with God in mind. That decision led to other decisions, all of which led to other decisions.
For all of us, complacency is our default. It doesn't require effort. Making small decisions that are fine by the world's standards but might be questionable to God is easy. But those are the same decisions that lead us in a slow creep away from God. Think about the positions that you are in, the decisions that you make at work. Where is the slow creep in those positions, the complacency in your decision making? How can you reverse course and focus on God?
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