My Daily Pause

Little Things Mean a Lot – What a cliché! Do we even really believe that?

Little things add up

Just how important are the little things we do?

• Solomon wrote of four creatures that we view as being small and insignificant; yet, in God’s sight, they are considered exceedingly wise (Proverbs 30:24-28)
• Jesus was born in of the smallest and most insignificant towns in Israel (Micah 5:2)
• Jesus once compared the kingdom of God to the large tree that would give shelter to the birds of the air, yet it had its beginnings as a tiny mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32)
• Tabitha did all sorts of good works, and by some, her activities may have been considered small matters (Acts 9:36-42)
• Jesus took special notice of a poor widow who cast two mites into the treasury while many were casting in of their abundance (Luke 21:1-4)

The little things can carry a lot of weight

Paul ran down a list of ways just about every class of person is supposed to “adorn the doctrine” in Titus 2. These are lots of small and easy to do things that, when they are all compiled, make God look good.

Ants can carry many times their weight to prepare for Winter Proverbs 30:25

There are so many little gestures that we as Christians can do make encourage someone or brighten their day:

• A smile for someone in the grocery store,
• A card to someone who is sick or in need of encouragement
• A phone call to let someone know that you were thinking of him or her
• A visit to a shut-in
• A meal to a family who has lost a loved one
• A word of encouragement to a fellow brother or sister in Christ

The list goes on and the actions are small, but just a few minutes can really make a difference to someone! As a parting thought, we are reminded in Matthew 25:34-40 of how when we do these things, we are actually doing them to our Lord.

Daily Bible reading for May 8

Proverbs 4
Deuteronomy 9:6-10:11
Hosea 6-7
Titus 2

¹⁷ Being kind to the poor is like lending to the Lord;
He will reward you for what you have done. – Proverbs 19:17 NCV

If you haven’t spent much time as a tourist in Washington D.C. you can’t know just how prolific the homelessness problem is there. Worse, it has become a career for many. As soon as you pop up out of the Metro station on the National Mall, you will be handed “helpful” leaflets and maps in exchange for “donations” to the homeless.

My son was allowed to invite his young girlfriend with us on one of our frequent visits to D.C. She obviously had no experience with dealing with the homeless people and they knew it. I warned her about the games they play, but she didn’t care. Her pure heart spoke louder than my “experienced” heart.

We eventually happened across a person that I am sure really needed help. She helped him just like all the others, and generously I might add. This time my whole perspective began to change – I realized I’ve passed on helping some truly hungry people. I can see some of their faces still.

Throughout the Proverbs and the rest of the Bible, we see the importance of helping the poor and God’s love for them. In this one verse, we can understand that it is not for us to try and manage what will happen to our “gift”. If our kindness is like lending to the Lord, then He will take care of that part at the appropriate time. Our reward comes from being there for Him.