Consider this. If you're going somewhere and you're off course by just one degree, after one foot, you'll miss your target by 0.2 inches. Trivial, right? But what about as you get farther out?

• After 100 yards, you'll be off by 5.2 feet. Not huge, but noticeable.
• After a mile, you'll be off by 92.2 feet. One degree is starting to make a difference.
• After traveling from San Francisco to L.A., you'll be off by 6 miles.
• If you were trying to get from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., you'd end up on the other side of Baltimore, 42.6 miles away.
• Traveling around the globe from Washington, DC, you'd miss by 435 miles and end up in Boston.
• In a rocket going to the moon, you'd be 4,169 miles off (nearly twice the diameter of the moon).
• Going to the sun, you'd miss by over 1.6 million miles (nearly twice the diameter of the sun).
• Traveling to the nearest star, you'd be off course by over 441 billion miles (120 times the distance from the earth to Pluto, or 4,745 times the distance from Earth to the sun).   Antone Roundy

I recently watched a documentary about a 1995 plane that experienced this fate. The pilot made a wrong input in the computer, leading the plane to start veering slightly off course. Because it was dark and the plane was going about five miles every minute, it didn't take long for them to be in serious trouble. They were flying into a small country whose radar was down. They had been receiving voice commands, but the problem was they weren't in the location the air traffic controller thought they were because of the previous error. It resulted in the plane being too low, coming in for what they thought was a landing, and crashing into the side of the mountain. One error set off a chain of events, leading to other mistakes and eventually 160 people's death. 

Have you ever wondered how in the world you got so off course? It could be with your career, kids, weight, health, or financial crisis; the list is endless. Maybe that chocolate brownie you started eating for dessert has turned into every night, and your clothes don't fit. Perhaps you are now in 50,000 dollars of debt after you took out one credit card. You may wonder how you got to this place in your career when you should be entirely somewhere else. It's astonishing that something that seems insignificant, one small thing, can lead to such a huge problem. The same principle can also apply to spiritual life. Most people don't set out to stray from the Lord, but getting preoccupied with life can allow us to move in a direction that does not bring us closer. For example, first, our prayer life might slip because we are just too tired, then reading the Word is sparse because we are so busy, then the kids have so much stuff we are skipping church. My friend, that is what you call a slippery slope. If you checked back in on this person in a year, if they stayed on the same path 9/10 times, they are now not praying at all, not reading their bible, basically not going to church at all, and lastly, not being bothered by any of it. The gulf has grown so gradually it has barely been noticed.  

There are numerous examples in the Bible where one wrong choice sets off a negative chain of events.

Sarai devised a plan to have a son through her housemaid Hagar instead of waiting on God's promise to make Abram a Father of many nations. Abram is persuaded to follow the plan, leading to jealousy, hatred, and heartache. 10 Sarah said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman! Get rid of her son! That woman’s son will never have a share of the family’s property. All of it belongs to my son Isaac.” 11 What Sarah said upset Abraham very much. After all, Ishmael was his son.


Because he did not go to battle, David caught a glimpse of a beautiful woman from the rooftop. The one decision to stay home led to a death of an innocent man, a child dying, and David with a remorseful heart. 2 Samuel 11 In the spring when the kings normally went out to war, David sent out Joab, his servants, and all the Israelites. They destroyed the Ammonites and attacked the city of Rabbah. But David stayed in Jerusalem.

Samson had an attitude of pride and arrogance that led to his downfall. One writer penned this about Samson. Samson's ethnicity, role, and family heritage in no way helped him to live a life pleasing to God. In the same way, we can go to church, serve and do the right things; and be off off course. The life of Samson cautions us that hearts left unchecked and uncontrolled, given in to pride and lust, can lead us to disaster.
https://www.thefellowship.site/archives/samson-strength-and-weakness/samsons-fall-lust-and-grace

This writing is to remind us that small choices eventually, over time, compile what our life becomes. 

“The real cost of a four-dollar-a-day coffee habit over 20 years is $51,833.79. That’s the power of the Compound Effect.”


 We must choose wisely every day!


Proverbs 4:25-27
Let your eyes look straight ahead;
    fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the[a] paths for your feet
    and be steadfast in all your ways.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;
    keep your foot from evil.​

​Lately, I have been studying Jonah. Before you tune me out, I've heard this a thousand times. Today I want you to look at this book differently. What about the people on the boat? These people were living everyday life traveling as they did daily by water, but on this day, a storm that even frightened the sailors blew up. This was a cargo ship. People depended on it for their lively hood and desperately started throwing things overboard. Who would be responsible for these items lost? There were no insurance policies or guarantee programs. It would be the merchants who would lose valuables, money, and maybe even their lives. 
 
When reading the story, I have always considered Jonah's thoughts, feelings, and consequences, but not those around him. His disobedience carried significant ramifications for everyone on the boat. People suffered because of Jonah's disobedience, and he was initially oblivious to the wind. The other passengers weren't doing wrong, they weren't going in the wrong direction, nor were they on the wrong boat, yet still, they were adversely affected by his sin. Dharious Daniels said, "Sometimes people make us responsible for their irresponsibility."  Look at Jonah's story. They were panicking, throwing valuables overboard, and worrying about the problem, all while Jonah slept. These people had taken on responsibility for his irresponsibility. 
 
Sometimes we may not have a choice but to have the person in our life, we may not even realize they are on the wrong boat, but sometimes we harbor people on purpose that cause havoc. Those we harbor, we make excuses for, enable, and disregard their reckless behavior. Occasionally, we need to jump out of the boat they are in or push them out of ours. Nothing is worse than taking responsibility for someone else's mess. As soon as they threw Jonah off, their world calmed. Don't get me wrong; they still took on damage because sin always leaves its mark, BUT GOD....... he provided safety for the crew, and even a Whale which represents grace to Jonah.  
 
12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.
We all need to think about how our sin affects those around us. Five years ago, two children were suffering greatly. One lady talked about giving one of the children a bath in the sink at daycare, while the other was three and could not speak. These children were 18 months and three years and had not made any decisions that led them to where they were; however, plenty of adults had made poor choices for them. These kids were metaphorically on the wrong boat reaping the horrific consequences of sin. The Lord provides, not through a whale in this case, but a different home. Here is the thing about the rescue the people had no idea they were even being sent on a mission. They minded their own business doing children’s ministry and policing, with NO plans to increase their family, BUT GOD...... The Lord asked for a slight favor of three weeks in the form of a DHR worker, even though they have never been to foster care classes. He knew where they were in life and asking for the whole thing at once would have maybe sent them into disobedience with a no or at the very least overwhelmed them completely. This week the little boy who could not speak accepted Christ as his Savior. This was the Lord’s plan of Grace and Mercy for him. I know this because this is our story. I contribute so much of his salvation to a small country church were so many people have poured into his little life. They have taught him the bible, but are always mixing in plenty of love with it.  It doesn’t matter what you have planned because God’s ways are not always our ways nor His thoughts our thoughts.
 
There are two things you can be in this story, either the Whale who is used by God for grace and mercy, or the one who needs to be thrown overboard because they are causing havoc for all those around them. God certainly wants us to be the first!
 
 
Genesis 50:20
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.