In 1911, circus stuntman Bobby Leach, threw himself over Niagara Falls in a steel barrel. Amazingly, he survived the fall. Fifteen years later, Bobby slipped on an orange peel and broke his leg in the fall. When it didn’t heal properly, the leg had to be amputated. Eventually gangrene set in and that simple accident took his life.
Our lives are a lot like this tragic story. We think all is fine because we survive the monumental challenges.. only to damage ourselves with what we consider to be little issues: A lingering glance at a person who’s not your spouse... a slightly higher number on a report... a “little white lie” about your past ... all seemingly harmless in their own right. However, they all lead to the same destructive place. Proverbs 16:17 tells us “The highway of the upright avoids evil; those who guard their ways preserve their lives.” If we are going to live to our potential, we must intentionally keep watch for things that will throw us off course both big AND small. And when we find one, no matter how small and insignificant it may seem, we need to seek God’s guidance and wisdom to avoid it.
