Don’t Despise Small Things

Scripture

“Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.”

~Mark 9:35, NLT

Quote

“To be successful, you have to learn to do the little things well.”

~ Paul Bryant

In Luke 9, Mark 9 and Matthew 18 we find the story of the disciples arguing over which one of them is the greatest; can you imagine such a conversation. Most of us were success driven in the early days. I came out of seminary dreaming of a big church, big salary and big car. None of those things materialized. I got a small church, even smaller salary and an old beat up VW. In less than five years, I changed my mind completely. I didn’t want any church of any size. I did want honest work to pay our bills and the car I wanted was one without a payment. As mother use to say, “We live and learn.” We pursue success in our youth but as we grow older and mature, we begin thinking about significance. We just want to count; we want to make a difference and we don’t want to waste our time or our life.

Success is found in accomplishment but significance is found in service. Jesus told His disciples, “The greatest among you will be the servant to all.” Mother Teresa never thought of herself as being great and neither did anyone else until she reached the twilight of her years. She once said, “In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.” I fell in love with Mother Teresa when she rebuked Bill Clinton on live TV for his stance on abortion. You hear motivational speakers saying things like “you can do anything you want. If you think great things you can do great things,” but this is not true. Some of us are not capable of doing great things but we can all do small things like help a neighbor, carry someone to the doctor, send a card, buy some’s lunch, or send an encouraging text. I can’t dunk a basketball; I can’t impress and audience with spell binding rhetoric, and there are many other things I can not do but I can do small things. I call these small things ACTS OF KINDNESS and it is my goal to do at least one everyday. These are small things that anyone can do.

There is a vast difference between being sucess driven and being purpose driven. When we focus on significance {purpose}, our goal is not to be great, awarded, recognized, applauded but to make a difference in the lives of others. Vanity drives our lust for success and recognition, but love motivates us to serve others. Vain pursuits always lead to emptiness whereas a life of service leads to a deep satisfaction that money or success can never buy. The disciples were not happy, they were arguing. They were not loving each other, they were competing with each other. There is a better way to live. Forget yourself and find someone who needs help and help them. It is a great remedy for dissatisfaction, self-pity, unhappiness and misery. Trust me, vainty and misery go together.

I think I shared this story lately but I do not recall if it was in a sermon or a blog. A young man is walking the beach picking up star fish and flinging them back into the water. The beach is littered with hundreds of starfish that the surf has washed up and left there to die. An older gentleman stopped him and said, “Son, there are too many star fish on the sand, you can’t possibly make a difference.” The young man reached don’t and picked up another star fish and threw it in the ocean and then he said, “I made a difference for that one.”

Extra

Another beautiful day yesterday:TYJ! I didn’t accomplish all my goals but due to some last minute help I did get some things done that were not on my list. It is looking better. I did hurt my shoulder changing the oil in the tractor and I was up most of the night. I finally ended up on the couch. It was daylight before I got up and I was very late getting to the office. This is way the blog is so late.

Sunday is COMMUNION.

I hope you have a great Friday and thanks for reading the blog.

Extra/Extra

George Beverly Shea sung this song a lot and there was a reason. The woman who wrote LITTLE IS MUCH is the same woman who encouraged George to keep singing when he vowed never to sing again. That one little piece of advice {sing in a lower key} and encouragement made a huge difference is Shea’s life.

LITTLE IS MUCH IF GOD IS IN IT

In the harvest field now ripened (there is a work)
There is a work for all to do
Hark, the Master’s voice it’s calling
To the harvest, calling you

Does the place you’re called to labor
Seem so small and little known?
Well, it is great if God is in it
And He will not forsake His own

Little is much when God is in it
Labor not for wealth or fame
There’s a crown, and you can win it
If you go in Jesus name

And when the conflict here has ended
And our race on Earth is run
He will say, “If you’ve been faithful
Welcome home, My child, well done”

For little is much when God is in it
Labor not for wealth or fame
And there’s a crown, and you can win it
If you go
If you go
If you go in Jesus name