The Slinky: A Study in the Spectrum of Sin

I recently had an insight (while searching for an alliterative headline) that the Slinky proves an excellent analogy for the spectrum of sin between good and bad that I have been noticing lately. If you will, imagine a slinky from your childhood and label one end “good,” or right relation and one end “bad,” or sin.

Now think about that Slinky when compacted and held tightly together. The distance between the good and bad is very, very short – perhaps an inch. Or if you imagined a metal version versus the plastic kind, that distance may be even less.

Next, consider the Slinky extended wide, accordion-style with one end stretching long to the other end with good to bad being very, very far apart. I think this helps me understand how before, within an inch you could cross from good to bad. But now with the distance of an inch, you are simply one inch away from good. You might even be six inches away from good but still be on the healthy side of the good to bad spectrum. This comforts me when I see where I stand on an issue compared perhaps to where my peer group or family stands on that issue. Even though I may be more liberal or farther away from the “good” starting point, I still haven’t crossed over to the sin side.

Then I also think about a Slinky sitting at the top of a staircase. With just a simple push the Slinky is sent on a collision course of top over bottom, good over bad, good over bad. I’ve also felt like this before in my sin life. Like I’m tumbling over and over and unsure which way is up.

Or, imagine when you hold the Slinky ends in both hands. You lift your left hand, everything cascades to the right. You lift your right hand, everything cascades to the left. Left. Right. Left. Right. Good. Bad. Good. Bad. Just when you think you’ve lost a particular dirty sin, habitual momentum brings it right back.

And then for those who’ve ever seen a toddler with a Slinky, or a Slinky that met its demise through an unfortunate encounter with the family pet, you can see how completely gnarly the spectrum of sin can get. You may be much closer to the opposite end that you realize, all the while thinking you’re comfortably sitting aside good.

All of this is to say that while good and bad may be concrete, defined, black and white concepts, the spectrum of sin seems to expand and contract. It seems to allow more room on some issues than on others and is much harder to pin down.