Luke 16:10-13
Jesus went on to make these comments:
If you’re honest in small things,
you’ll be honest in big things;
If you’re a crook in small things,
you’ll be a crook in big things.
If you’re not honest in small jobs,
who will put you in charge of the store?
No worker can serve two bosses:
He’ll either hate the first and love the second
Or adore the first and despise the second.
You can’t serve both God and the Bank.
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
A friend of mine works out at
our local CrossFit gym. According to information at the CrossFit
website*, “CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning
program…designed for universal scalability, making it the perfect
application for any committed individual regardless of experience. We’ve
used our same routines for elderly individuals with heart disease and
cage fighters one month out from televised bouts. We scale load and
intensity; we don’t change programs.”
Recently, my friend shared
on Facebook that she had struggled with “box jumps”…an exercise in which
one jumps from the ground and lands with both feet on top of an
elevated box. It’s harder than it sounds…and my friend struggled for
weeks to perform this exercise. Meanwhile, she fell several times and
developed a “mental block” about completing the jump…until her husband
and workout buddies encouraged her and supported (quite literally) her
effort. Now that she has done one successful “box jump”…she is off and
running. These will likely become easier and easier for her.
Even
though a “box jump” is a positive example of something getting easier
with practice…we have plenty of situations and circumstances in our
lives where “one thing leads to another” – and not in a good way. Small
lies become big ones…stealing something seemingly insignificant becomes
the gateway to taking bigger things. Looking the other way on
something that doesn’t seem all that important can lead to covering up a
major wrong down the road. Working too much…participating in your
favorite game, sport or activity…overeating or drinking too much…and
wasting time on “mindless drivel” may seem harmless in the short run…but
these can become nasty (and sinful) habits over time.
The
bottom line is that little things matter…in every aspect of our lives.
Just like my friend who was encouraged to persist in achieving the “box
jump,” we must keep focused on accomplishing the big things for God.
And we must encourage others in the same manner. We must “zero in” on
what pleases God…what is really significant…what furthers His missions
and His kingdom…and make these the goal of our daily living.
We
must demonstrate at every turn that we are trustworthy in the little
things…or God will never trust us with the bigger ones. If you read a
few more verses in Luke 16, you’ll see that Jesus tells the Pharisees…”What society sees and calls monumental, God sees through and calls monstrous.” This is a profound statement that needs to soak into our hearts and souls.
Are
we faithful to God in all things…even the little ones? Or have we
allowed ourselves to be caught up in the “monumental” things of society
and created something of a “monster” in the process? It’s time we
settled this once and for all…made the vertical leap to trustworthy
discipleship…and left the devil in the dust. Are you ready to “jump”
with me?
©2015 Debbie Robus
* http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/what-crossfit.html
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