Small Matters

The person who is trustworthy in small matters is also trustworthy in great ones… Luke 16:10

When the three little Wohlfert’s learned to drive, their first solo adventure was to drive the 3 miles to town to pick up a gallon of milk.  It’s funny how such a small thing can be such a landmark isn’t it. While they were basking in independence, we were testing them out with small trips; they were a sort of rite of passage to bigger trips. If however, we didn’t think they were ready,they didn’t get to move on to longer drives. This practice didn’t always set well because they seemed to be under the false impression that just because they had a driver’s license, they could drive anywhere they wanted. Silly kids!

I wonder if God looks at us with the same wrinkled forehead and raised eyebrow look we give our kids when they think they are qualified and ready to do something they haven’t earned our trust for yet? We have a tendency to try to do the “big stuff” for Jesus like volunteer at the soup kitchen or serve on six different committees at church thinking that the bigger the task, the bigger His approval. However, I think it’s the small matters that are often the hardest and give us the most opportunity to live our faith.  I was struck with the significance of this verse while grocery shopping. It was a scenario that I had encountered a few times before but this day it jabbed me like a left hook.

Maybe I’m the only one who does this, but when approaching the checkout with my heaping cart of groceries, I always scan to find the shortest line. Well, same as always, I was heading to the check out and saw a new lane open up.  I assumed the position; head down, no eye-contact and feet movin' like my shoes were on fire.  But then it happened…I saw him…the guy also headed to the same checkout lane. I noticed he was further away than I was so I picked up my pace just a tiny bit, avoided eye contact and zipped into the empty lane ahead of him.  When he arrived a millisecond after me I did it…I gave him a little surprised look and sweetly said “Oh my, pardon me.” As if it was a complete surprise we arrived at the same time!

Pardon me my foot! I knew darn good and well what I was up to!  For a brief 
second, I knew I should back off or at least slow down…my heart knew what was right but that darned old flesh just barged in and took over!  I certainly didn’t make a spectacle of myself, in fact the whole event was not even noticeable to anyone except the two of us but it wasn’t my most shining moment and it bugged me for days!  When I came across this verse I was haunted by the whole situation once again.  These are exactly the “small matters” this verse is speaking about!  When I think about it, God puts many of these tiny opportunities in our path every week. It’s through these “small things” we can become trustworthy in His eyes.  Talk about somebody I’d really like to have trust me!  It might be easy to dismiss these silly little things as a part of God’s plan but I believe they are.  He promised to love us and protect us, but that promise doesn’t come with a guarantee of convenience and comfort. Sometimes He loves us enough to make us wiggle a little in our own skin.  His instruction for managing the small matters comes from our conscience. Chances are if our decision or action disturbs our peace, He’s testing us, just waiting for us to do the right thing.  I guess you could say He’s waiting to see how we do on the short drives.

A Seed To Plant:  Keep a watchful eye on yourself this week.  Open your eyes and your heart to the “small matters” God puts in your path and use them to build His trust. Remind yourself that sometimes acting like His child isn’t always quick, easy or convenient but the blessings he gives His faithful make our efforts well worth it!
 
Blessings on your day!