Failure Happens Slowly Before It Happens Suddenly

In 2017, I ran a bunch of races: 5Ks, 10Ks, and half-marathons. I had a blast. I’d finally trained well and was enjoying my new hobby.

Near the end of the season, I bought a new pair of running shoes. Soon after, I found myself injured. I went to the physiotherapist. “How did this happen?” I asked. I figured she would blame the new pair of shoes. Instead, she told me the truth. “This injury has been slowly developing for the past 50 years.” The injury revealed itself suddenly, but it had been slowly developing for decades.

I think about that often.

We’re no longer surprised when we see a catastrophic moral failure. Quite often, we ask ourselves, “How did this happen?” We begin to look at the circumstances that led to the failure and try to figure things out. Most of the time, the failure has been in the works for decades. Seeds began to grow much earlier that have finally grown big enough for everyone to see.

Moral failure is rarely an event. It’s more of a slow process that can be stopped if we catch it early enough, but that will become catastrophic if we let it go.

Perhaps that’s why Scripture keeps giving us similar warnings:

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41)
Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. (1 Corinthians 10:12)
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. (Galatians 6:7)

These verses all follow the same theme: look out for failure before it happens. Pay attention to the actions that precede moral failure. Anticipate them and deal with them. Don’t be surprised. Failure will find you unless you anticipate that it will come, and take decisive action to avoid it.

We should never be surprised by failure that’s been years in the making. We must identify the underlying seeds of this failure and act decisively to address them before they escalate and lead to our downfall, as unattended, they will undoubtedly cause significant harm.

None of us are immune; all of us are in danger. Don’t mess around or wait until it gets worse. Deal with it now before it’s too late.

I’ve been thinking about some questions:

• What secrets do I have? Sin thrives in secrecy. Not everyone should know our private struggles, but someone should, or we’re in grave danger.
• What sins are growing in my life that I think I can handle now, but that will overpower me if left much longer?
• What sins do I turn to under stress or when I’m fatigued? Do others know them? Do I have a plan to deal with these temptations and sins before I get to the point of being stressed or exhausted?
• Where am I vulnerable? How can I deal decisively with certain temptations so they don’t take me down?

My running injury developed over time. Most of the time, so does moral failure. It's better to anticipate failure and address it proactively to avoid harm to ourselves, others, and dishonor to God.