Some religious people feel that as long as one has a sincere heart, the “little” details do not make much difference. Yet we don’t think this way about other matters which are not of eternal consequence. Consider:
If 99.9 percent is good enough, then…
- Two million documents will be lost by the IRS this year.
- 811,000 faulty rolls of 35 mm film will be sold this year.
- 22,000 checks will be deducted from the wrong bank accounts in the next 60 minutes.
- 1,314 phone calls will be misplaced by telecommunication services every minute.
- 12 babies will be given to the wrong parents each day.
- 268,500 defective tires and 14,208 defective personal computers will be shipped this year.
- 403,260 tax returns will be returned incorrectly this year.
- 2,488,200 books will be shipped in the next 12 months with the wrong cover.
- 5,517,200 cases of soft drinks produced in the next 12 months will be flatter than a bad tire.
- Two plane landings daily at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago will be unsafe.
- 3,056 copies of tomorrow’s Wall Street Journal will be missing one of the three sections.
- 18,322 pieces of mail will be mishandled next hour.
- 291 pacemaker operations will be botched this year.
- 880,000 credit cards in circulation will turn out to have incorrect cardholder information on their magnetic strips.
- $9,690 will be spent today, tomorrow, next Thursday, and every day in the future on defective, often unsafe sporting equipment.
- 55 malfunctioning automatic teller machines will be installed in the next 12 months.
- 20,000 incorrect prescriptions will be written this year.
- 114,500 mismatched shoes will be shipped this year.
- $761,900 will be spent in the next 12 months on tapes and compact discs that won’t play.
- 107 incorrect medical procedures will be performed by the end of today.
- 315 entries in Webster’s Dictionary will turn out to be misspelled (Insight, Syncrude Canada, Ltd.)
A Little Faith is Insufficient
Jesus noticed the “small stuff.” He commented on the fall of a sparrow (Matthew 10:29-31), a vine and branches (John 15:1-5), a lily (Matthew 6:28), the cry of need in a noisy crowd (Matthew 5:25-34), a cup of cold water (Matthew 10:42), and a widow’s mite (Mark 12:42). He records and rewards the “little” things (Matthew 25:31-46; Matthew 16:26; Revelation 20:11-15). One small thing that brought His comment and condemnation on four separate occasions was a “little faith” (Matthew 6:30; Matthew 8:26; Matthew 14:31; Matthew 16:8).
A Little Fault May Ruin a Character
A person may be very talented, but have one fault, and be a failure. Did you ever hear someone say, “I like that fellow, except he is always talking about himself?” Or, “She is a good person, but she is lazy.” Or, “He will give you the shirt off his back, but he’s bad to hit the bottle.” A little pride (Proverbs 16:18; Proverbs 29:23), envy (James 3:16; Romans 1:29; 1 Corinthians 3:3), greed (Acts 5; cf. Judas), lust (Matthew 5:27-29), or malice (Ephesians 4:31; 1 Peter 2:1; 1 Corinthians 14:20; 1 John 3:20) can lead to big problems. A little social drinking (Proverbs 20:1) or being a little “critical” can bring on great consequences (Matthew 7:1-2). The tongue is a little member, but it can kindle a great strife (James 3:5).
A Little Sin Can Condemn Us
God watches the “small stuff.” Jesus said, “…Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities” (Luke 19:17; cf. Matthew 25:21). James said, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, suffered inglorious defeat upon the battlefield and dogs licked his blood (1 Kings 16 - 18). It is interesting to note the beginning of his downfall: “…Ahab worshipped Baal a little”(2 Kings 10:18; cf. 1 Kings 16:31; Ezekiel 16:47; Ecclesiastes 10:1).
A Little False Doctrine Can Poison the Soul
God has always been a stickler for doctrine. It is the key word of three books in the New Testament—First Timothy, Second Timothy, and Titus (1 Timothy 1:10; 2 Timothy 1:7, 2 Timothy 1:13; 2 Timothy 4:3; Titus 1:9, Titus 1:13; Titus 2:1-2, Titus 2:8). He expects us to “test our teachers” on doctrine (1 John 4:1). Jesus said, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much” (Luke 16:10).
“Small Stuff” can lead to big trouble. What about a decimal point out of place? One dollar lost in nation-wide sales can bankrupt a company overnight. What about a spark in the wrong place? What about a ball bearing or gas filter not functioning properly? What about a little hole in your tire? Like little acorns make the might oaks, little departures from the truth make big digressions (cf. 2 John 9 - 11).
Solomon said, “Little foxes destroy the vines” (Song of Solomon 2:15), which relates to the Jewish agricultural economy. Grapes were a staple item, so watchmen protected vineyards from thieving animals. Sometimes a watchman guarded against bears, while foxes entered undetected and ruined the crop. So it is in many churches. We guard against what we call “big” departures from the faith but dismiss small ones thinking they make little difference. A combination of foxes may do as much damage as a bear. The poet phrased it:
A pebble in the steamlet scant
hath changed the course of many a river.
A droplet on a tiny plant
hath warped the giant oak forever.
hath changed the course of many a river.
A droplet on a tiny plant
hath warped the giant oak forever.
No man has made the right approach to God until he understands the importance of small things. Jesus said, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much” (Luke 16:10). “Sweat the small stuff”—it matters.
