Small Sins Lead to Catastrophes

We tend to assume that as long as we avoid obvious bad outcomes, we’ll avoid catastrophe. This assumption is wrong.

Catastrophes are often a result of a small sin repeated over time. You don’t die because you ate a bar of chocolate once. You die early because you’ve been eating many bars of chocolate over a longer period of time.

We tend to brush off small sins and label them “exceptions”. While this may be true at that moment, we are also aware that exceptions quickly turn into habits that stick. They become our lifestyle which increases the likelihood of a catastrophe.

Small sins repeated over time lead to devastating catastrophes. It’s the Compound-Effect accelerated in a negative direction. Eating a bar of chocolate once isn’t too bad. Missing a workout once isn’t the end of the world and sleeping late on a Friday night isn’t a huge deal either. But eating a bar of chocolate, missing a workout, and not sleeping enough in two days? That’s bad.

Often, it’s not one poor decision that leads to a catastrophe. It’s the many small sins accumulated over a longer period of time that lead to catastrophes.

To prevent catastrophes, resist small sins.