Last February, the Oroville Dam in California had a problem with its spillway that eventually threatened the integrity of the dam and led to the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of residents downstream. Although a major catastrophe was avoided, the event served as a warning to the problem of aging infrastructure in our country. I believe the event also can provide an analogy to problems that can arise in our lives if we allow sin a foothold.
The problem with the Oroville spillway started as just a small area of the concrete broke loose as the spillway was releasing water from a winter storm that had dumped huge amounts of rain over the area. The damaged area quickly grew larger with the force of the water running over it.
The water managers reduced the amount of water they were releasing in an attempt to limit the erosion but this quickly led to the reservoir reaching its capacity. Water was allowed to overtop the emergency spillway which was poorly designed and rapidly eroded causing the evacuation order.
With no other option, the managers began releasing large amounts of water from the main, damaged spillway in an attempt to save the dam. The plan worked as far as preventing a huge flood downstream but left, what started as a small hole in the concrete, a huge canyon cut into the rock below the spillway.
Like the spillway, if we allow areas of sins to take hold in our life, when the stress of life comes, it can quickly become a much bigger problem. The consequences of the sin might eventually affect not only us but those around us.
What starts as a small, seemingly innocuous thing can become something huge that threatens to destroy our lives. The problem at the spillway was believed to have started with roots clogging drains under the spillway. Just as those drains being cleaned out might have avoided a lot of problems, so cleaning out sins deep and unseen in our hearts might help us to avoid problems as well.
Another lesson to be learned is the importance of a strong foundation. In Matthew 7, Jesus told a parable of the wise and foolish builders. The wise builder who built his house upon the rock was able to withstand the storm while the foolish man’s house built on sand fell flat. This parable came at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus taught on many practical areas in life.
Being well grounded in those teachings of Jesus as well as the rest of scripture will help us to stand firm against the storms of life. Developing a habit of daily study of the scriptures can help accomplish this.
Just as the emergency spillway that seemed fine over years without being used was quickly eroded away due to the lack of a good foundation, we can be quickly deceived by false teachers or just the influence of the world around us if we do not have Christ as the solid rock beneath us.
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