A Slippery Slope

A character in the Star Wars movies can teach us a lesson about choices. When we meet Anakin Skywalker in Episode I he’s a young boy with a good heart who thinks Obi-Wan Kenobi is the coolest Jedi ever[1].  He’s full of good intent, wanting to free his mother from slavery.  When we last see him in Episode III he is screaming at Obi Wan that he hates him, having gone over fully to the dark side and become the apprentice to the Sith Lord Darth Sidious.  Anakin never thought about turning to the dark side!  However, through a cascade of little decisions he found himself on the side that he had sworn to fight earlier in life.  Even an unbeliever like George Lucas sometimes hits on the truth that Satan can use little errors to cause us to end up in big trouble.
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[1] Anakin is actually “found” by Obi-Wan’s mentor, Qui-Gon Jinn.  However, he quickly becomes Obi-Wan’s padawan learner in the movies, calling him “master” and learning the Jedi ways from him.  A full bio of this character can be found on the official Star Wars website at http://www.starwars.com/databank/character/anakinskywalker (accessed 7/31/07).