Matthew 25:23 His lord said to him, Well done, good and true servant: you have been true in a small thing, I will give you control over great things: take your part in the joy of your lord. [Bible in Basic English]
I read a book recently that explained how small seemingly insignificant things can set off dramatic changes in an environment. One of the author’s examples involved the New York subway system in the 1980’s, when most of the 6,000 train cars were covered with graffiti and lacked heat or air conditioning. Fare-beating was so rampant that the Transit Authority lost over $100 million annually and over 10,000 felonies were committed on trains each year.
When a new head of transit police was named, it was expected that he would attack the most serious crimes first; violence, robbery and drugs. Instead, he cracked down on the fare beaters rather than felons, and on the graffiti artists rather than gang bangers. His approach was to ruthlessly focus on eliminating a few specific activities (graffiti and fare beating) that were creating an environment conducive to crime. Within a short time this program successfully reduced the crime rate in the subway system and administrators went on to use the same approach in other problem areas of the city.
I believe this principle can be applied to a Christian’s life as well. We need to focus on eliminating the seemingly small things in our lives that create situations that make it easy to sin or difficult to do the right thing. Some of these things may not be sinful by themselves, but they can put you in a situation, create an environment or put you in a mindset that makes it easier to sin. Here are some examples:
-You tend to oversleep on Monday mornings (not a sin), but when you show up late for work you lie ( a sin) and say “Traffic was a mess this morning, I have got to find a better way to get to work.”
-A member of the opposite gender at work mentions something that’s not going perfect in their marriage. Maybe you’ve been there, understand their plight and want to counsel them, which may lead to longer discussions over lunch, which may lead to phone calls on the weekend, which may lead to….We have seen this with people outside the church, in the church and behind the pulpit. It is a slippery slope you don’t want to set foot on.
-For the guys: While channel surfing you linger for a few seconds on that movie channel late at night. You look at the Victoria’s Secret catalog often, but never order. You offer to be the designated driver to Hooter’s after the game…(it’s a ministry opportunity, right?).
-You have a habit of doing little things that don’t seem to hurt anyone, like taking supplies from work, overeating, going to the gambling boat, drinking an occasional beer with the guys, gossiping, cheating on your taxes, not paying your bills, not tithing, missing church, yelling at your kids, using profanity, telling dirty jokes, etc. Then afterward you feel bad for doing what you did, you’re disappointed with yourself and you feel like a hypocrite. You may even think “People at church know what I did and there is no way I can face them, I can’t go back to that church. Besides, this Christian stuff is impossible for me…I’ll don’t think I’ll ever make it so I might as well not even try.”
I would venture to say that with a little thought we can all make a list of a few habits or tendencies that create those situations where it’s easy for us to sin or at least difficult to do the right thing. With a little imagination you might even be able to see how those habits could cause you to “crash and burn,” destroying your life, family, ministry, finances, etc.
This week I encourage you to find two or three of these “little things” in your life and actively work on eliminating them. Make a list and put it on your bathroom mirror. Need help figuring out what those things are? James 1:5 says “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally.” God wants to show you the little things in your life you need to work on, not because He wants to condemn you, but because He loves you.
Like Jesus said in Matthew 25:23 “Well done, good and true servant: you have been true in a small thing, I will give you control over great things: take your part in the joy of your lord.”
Author Resource:-
Bible Teacher at Sherman Full Gospel Church.
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