The Difference Between Success and Failure is so Small

Last week I was supposed to guest teach a class at a library down in Canton.  I wrote the address as XX Market St., N Canton, OH.  Because I am a techie guy, I plugged the address into my GPS.  It became pretty apparent that there was no library at this address in North Canton.  As I am wandering aimlessly in North Canton, I call my source of all knowledge, my wife.  She tells me the address is XX Market St. N., Canton, OH.  In other words, my comma was off simply one position, but I was 6 miles from my intended target.  So I walked into the class half hour late.

This little slip-up reminds me that the difference between succeeding and failing is so small.  One wrong decision, even innocently, can have disastrous circumstances.  However, more often than not we stretch the limit, playing the fringes of ethics and morality.  I have to remind myself that if I am lying, even a small lie, it will lead to big lies later.  I have to be vigilant to prevent this from happening.  My flawed, sinful character makes slippage more likely than doing the right thing.  It is not wrong to pray to my heavenly Father and acknowledge my potential for waywardness and ask that He provide me His wisdom through His Holy Spirit.  And that is what I do regularly.  I also confess it and repent when I do go wayward.  I call it for what it is which is the difference between repentance and regret.  True repentance seeks restoration where regret is sorry for the consequences only.  I know every time I sin I am damaging a relationship.  It could be a vertical relationship with Lord and/or damaging a relationship with a friend or brother.  I need to be prepared to accept consequences always for doing the right thing. 

Going back to my simple illustration, my GPS represents the world.  The GPS directed me down the wrong path given the wrong set of inputs.  There are all sorts of justification for wrong behavior when dictated by the world.  We can justify just about anything.  It is called situational ethics.  Everyone else is doing it.  It is necessary to be successful.  Am I willing to base my decisions on a True North (biblical) set of principles?  In my example, I did not really check it out in advance - I just blindly followed the GPS instructions.  How easy it is to this in business and life.  We have to be diligent.