Where does it start I wonder?

When did wanting a promotion turn to being prepared to do anything in order to get the job. The story of Ruth Padel appointed  head of Poetry at Oxford until she was forced to resign following revelations of a smear campaign on her rival, is a fascinating  reminder to us all of how things can slide.
I don't know much about the people involved but I am imagining that it didn't start that way, somewhere however ambition took over integrity and there was no way back. It is not an unfamiliar story, good people can cross the line. Arguments can turn to blood feuds, the need to hold onto power becomes corrupt, and greed becomes criminal.

There are plenty of examples to show how easily it can happen, and it happens when we take the focus off Jesus and let it settle on others things. When our hearts and minds are no longer driven by what God wants but by what we want.

The commandments written so many years ago warn us
"Thou shalt have no other Gods but me." Exodus 20 vs 3
wise words indeed, look what can happen when we ignore them.