Slippery Slopes.

“It’s a slippery slope” I can not tell you how many times I heard this statement told to me with the wag of the finger, shake of head, or a tisk of disappointment.

In most scenarios I would be asking a ‘why question’, something like “Why can I watch this movie at home but not the theater?”, “Why can I wear this bracelet as a hair tie but not on my arm?”, “Why can I go tan my body but not use foundation?” “Why can I wear PJ pants and joggers inside my home but not outside, are pants themselves bad, or only pants in public?”

I would argue my point, “there is literally zero scripture to back up this rule that I cannot due xyz, so why can I not do it?!” To which the common answers I would get would be,

“Doing xyz is a slippery slope. If you do xyz then you’ll start to do lmnop, and that will lead you to do efg, and then efg will add up to abc and soon you’ll be in deliberate sin and lose your salvation, end up as a drug addict and die.” You might think I am being dramatic but I had a lot of these arguments.

A perfect example is with a former pastor and a sermon he gave all of the young ladies in our youth class. “Leggings are wrong, leggings are a slippery slope.” Remember, this a real conversation that took place (okay scratch that. It was not a conversation, it was a sermon, no discussion was allowed, only direction.)

“If you start wearing leggings to keep you modest it will lead to shorter skirts. When your skirts get shorter you’ll start to think it's okay to wear short dresses with your leggings. Soon your dresses will get shorter and shorter and they will be no more than shirts with leggings. After leggings you will wear pants, and then shorts, and then nothing at all. You cannot rely on leggings to keep you modest. Leggings are a slippery slope that will lead all of you to think that modesty is not necessary. Leggings will cause you to sin and send you hell.” I may be paraphrasing, but this was a real sermonette I was given in a youth group classroom at eighteen years old.

Often I was made to feel like the decision had simply been made for me on what was right and good, what I could or should do, and anything gray whether backed by scripture or not was strictly off limits. Certain people in my life also reacted very negatively whenever I asked questions, introduced other passages of scripture, or argued my disagreement to their statements. “We draw the line to keep all of us safe.” statements like this were nearly always added to the end of ‘slippery slope’ arguments. When there was no clear commandment given in scripture the reply was always given that a safeguard had been made to guide me so that I would not stumble and fall.

The “for your own good”, for your safety or protection arguments got old quickly. With no straight answer I would eventually follow out my own discretion and make my own choices. In an almost self-fulfilling prophecy way I would slide farther and farther into the ‘bad thing’ that I was warned about.

Here is a good example:

All my life I was taught against makeup. The older I got the more questions I had about why makeup was bad. Preachers and teachers all around me taught that makeup was a creation of pride and vanity. Scriptures and examples from harlots and Jezebels were used emphatically to conclude that only vain, evil women would paint their faces. Furthermore, It was also taught that we should never change God’s perfect creation of ourselves or our appearance so therefore all makeup was evil and forbidden. As a woman who has never had good skin I had a lot of questions about why. Why was all makeup bad just because one bad/evil person used it in the Bible? Why was tanning okay with Ultra-violet, cancer causing light but not a tinted, temporary lotion? Why could we pluck our eyebrows and curl our eyelashes but not thicken either one with a cosmetic? Are we allowed to take away but not add? It was okay (and encouraged nonetheless) to spend hours styling our hair and spending money on the perfect fashionable outfit with matching bags and shoes was a positive practice; but putting on makeup was a symbol of vanity? Was putting time, effort, and money okay in certain aspects of our appearance but not others? What made something okay and what made something vain?

I would search scripture and find nothing teaching against makeup. I would search my heart and pray fervently and still feel nothing wrong with simple makeup, especially in contrast to the practices I saw going on around me. When I made statements of my own beliefs and began to wear what I felt comfortable in I would get opposing statements along the lines of : “What you’re doing may not be talked about directly in the Bible but it is a slippery slope of rebellion. If you start to wear makeup to fill in your eyebrows pretty soon you’ll be okay with contouring and changing your facial features, if you become okay with painting your face to appear different then soon you’ll be okay with surgical changes and facial tattoos or piercings that will alter your appearance permanently. Once you alter your face you’ll be okay with altering and changing any part of your body and you’ll completely change to the person God created you to be. You won’t be yourself anymore and you’ll deny God’s creation. You’ll be living a lie and dwelling in sin.”

This scenario has repeated itself in my life more times than I can count.

I feel like a self-declared poster child for the ‘slippery slope’. I did start wearing the smallest amount of makeup to cover scarring and bald spots in my eyebrow, that grew to wearing thin coats of brown mascara to make my impossibly thin eyelashes longer. From mascara it grew to foundation and then a white-eye brightening tool, until finally, I landed on a complete five minute face routine to practice daily before going to work. Sometimes the makeup is even accompanied by a bracelet or nail polish too.

I have always hated the slippery slope argument and objections, but today I’m here to say that I believe they are true. It is true, it is a slippery slope, beginning to question and feel comfortable with one thing often will lead to feeling comfortable and asking questions about more things…

In the past few years I have ‘slid’ down the slippery slope farther and farther from the beliefs that I had when I was young and I have changed into the person I was warned that I would become. I have “gone off the deep end” just as I was warned that I would.

Like I said, I feel like I am the self proclaimed poster child for the ‘slippery slope’.

My slight use of makeup has led to nail polish and jewelry. My controversial wearing of an additional, special mother’s day ring led to me wearing two rings daily, which led to me feeling okay with wearing bracelets. My bracelets have led me to think that necklaces are okay as well, and now I find myself debating pierced ears. My wearing of leggings has led to athletic pants and board shorts for certain activities outside of my home and that has caused me to question if pants are truly a sin…

But, here is what I have found. This is the moment that I bring everything full circle and become okay as the poster child for slope sliding: That slope for me to slide down was a mountain built up by someone.

We each start young with building up our beliefs. For most of us our beliefs are built up by what we are taught, told, pick up on or are exposed to. Personally, my early beliefs came from the culture of the UPCI church I was raised in. My ‘convictions’ and beliefs were built on the things I saw others practicing and preaching. (aka My beliefs were built on the beliefs of others.)

Choice by choice, belief by belief, I built up my mountain stacking convictions and choices on top of each other.

Mountain level one: Bracelets are wrong because all jewelry is wrong. My foundation for jewelry being wrong is a preacher and a denomination’s position papers.

Mountain level two: Leggings are wrong because pants are wrong. Pants are wrong because of the tradition of a denomination and one interpretation of a single scripture.

Mountain level three: Nail polish is wrong because it’s pride and vanity? Nail polish is wrong because our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit? Nail polish is wrong because a pastor/preacher says so?

I stack my mountains on top of each other to create my beliefs (all based on what I have been told/taught and trusting in the foundation of each one of them) This precarious structure becomes what I rely on and put all of my faith in. And then comes the dreaded day when I find myself with a question… Why is nail polish bad? I search for my answer within my built up mountain and cannot seem to find it. My little belief/mountain crumples without a firm foundation and I slide down. Next I find another question, why is wearing this bracelet wrong? Again, I search for an answer and some understanding and my belief crumbles under my feet. I slide further down the slope…

When you begin to question things you cannot help but slide down and chances are as you slide down the beliefs you have built up you will uncover multiple things that you disagree with or have questions about.

Here is the big point, the big discovery about these slopes I am sliding down:

You cannot live on someone else’s mountain of faith, you will slide off and fall to the ground.

You have to build your own mountain.

You have to research, decide, understand and build up your own faith and beliefs.

You have to know the foundation of your belief and be rooted in its truth.

If you have not built up your own foundation with the truth and become grounded in the understanding of the knowledge you have found in God’s word the second that it starts to rain (you ask questions) and the ground gets wet (you disagree) you will find yourself sliding and slipping, falling off the mountain and crashing to the ground.

My mountain was built on men. My mountain was built on what old men thought and translated scripture to be. My foundation was emphasized and built in tradition, peer pressure, and culture. Read it again, my foundation was rooted and emphasized in men not God.

When the foundation of your mountain is not built on God and your true relationship with Him then the mountain is going to crumble and you are going to slide down the slope and crash to the ground.

Can you see the point I am coming around to? You cannot believe something because someone told you to, because your mom believes it too, or even because you’ll hurt or disappoint someone if you think differently… Those beliefs are going to crumble because your foundation in them is not based in Christ, it is based in someone else ( a human no less…)

All of those “tisk tisk, that's a slippery slope” or “that’s a dangerous path to take because it will lead to xyz” sermonettes with disapproving tones were right. It is a slippery slope. But, I am so glad that I slid down that slope and fell down to the ground.

Down here on the ground I am free to build my own mountain, a new mountain built off truth that I have researched and studied in the Word of God and put prayer into. Each new belief brick that I lay into my mountain is rooted in not just faith but also in understanding.

In closing, here is my challenge/question to you:

If you are sliding down the slope,

Is it a bad thing to ask questions and search for answers? NO.

Ask the question. Do the research, do the reading, do the studying, do the praying.

Throw away all the studies, sources, and material written by people and look solely at the Word of God. Dissect your faith and belief, understand what you believe and stand firm on that belief.

Slide down the slope friend, and then begin to build up your mountain back up on God’s word and not man’s tradition. You have to build up your own mountain. Build up your mountain on truth and understanding. The truth will stand up to anything that is thrown its way. The truth will always prevail against questions, accusations, and twisted words… Do not be afraid to search for the truth. The truth is always going to stand ( the truth will always win.)

If you are the one warning others about slippery slopes,

I’ve already admitted it, you are right that questions can lead to a slippery slope and cause people to dissect and deconstruct beliefs. What I will ask you to question is if the warning you are giving to others when they bring up questions, concerns, or differences in convictions is helpful or hindering. When someone comes to you and makes the statement that they don’t see anything wrong with xyz, have no convictions against xyz, or the Bible never says that xyz is wrong, your response matters… Your response matters to them, and to God.

I know it is hard to watch people disagree with a belief or a tradition that you hold close to your heart. I know that it is painful to watch people you love do things differently than what you would choose or want for them. My heart knows, feels and understands your pain. I have stood in your shoes. I hope you also know that the person asking questions and sliding down the slope, searching out their faith and convictions is also experiencing the same pain. I have also stood in their shoes and it is hard to question things you once thought you understood or believed without doubt.

Instead of questioning or condemning one another for feeling differently or changing perhaps we could offer assistance and support in loving ways. Maybe this would look like admitting that you do not have a perfect, Biblical answer but offering to help them study and find some answers. Maybe it could look like kindly letting your differences stand but with a reassurance of your love (aka, saying “I feel differently about makeup but I will always feel love for you). We could even remind them that the Bible says we will disagree on certain values but that at its core the Bible commands us to love God and others (Romans 14:5-12).

I know your position is hard and it feels painful but condemning others and disregarding their valid questions is wrong. We all will give an account to God for our own actions, this includes those asking questions and those condemning others based on their own difference of belief, opinion, or convictions. (2 Corinthians 5:10, Matthew 12:36, 1 Corinthians 4:5, 1 Corinthians 11:31)

I have an entire post written up on asking questions and how it is not “rebellion”, “off the devil '', or a “sign of spiritual weakness”. Asking questions is something that all Christians should do. Questions are actually Biblically mandated and encouraged by Jesus.( 2 Corinthians 13:5 2, Timothy 2:14-15, Matthew 7:7&8,Philippians 2:5-13) Perhaps in future I will share that post, today I will leave you with this final statement:

It is not a slippery slope when the foundation is not firm, understood, and rooted in truth.