Pastor’s Corner: “Micro and Macro” How God Meets us in the Small Things
Luke 16:10 (NLT) – 10 “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.
Immediately after sending the text message I was confronted by a moral dilemma. Honestly, I felt a little silly at the insignificance of it. I was running late to a meeting and said I would only be five minutes late. But that wasn’t the truth. Having driven the same route on a weekly basis, I knew exactly how long it would take. It would take me fifteen minutes. So why did I send a message knowing it was wrong? Have you ever done this? We are called to obey God — even in the small things.
Circumstances test our integrity every day. It often seems easier to lie about a situation than to tell the truth. “The people I am meeting won’t care if it’s not an exact estimation. Surely, they’ll give a little extra measure of grace knowing I’m a little later than anticipated – what’s a few additional minutes?” Stretching the truth in this situation isn’t really that big of a deal. In fact, the world would have us think that these sorts of things are not only acceptable, but necessary.
Faithfulness requires integrity, and God tests your integrity in the little things. Luke 16:10 (GNT) Jesus says, “Whoever is faithful in small matters will be faithful in large ones; whoever is dishonest in small matters will be dishonest in large ones.” He is saying your public blessing is determined by your private integrity. Every time a politician has a scandal, you can count on his defenders to come out and say this: “It really shouldn’t matter what a guy’s private life is like.” Have you ever heard that one? “His private life doesn’t have a thing to do with him as a leader.” It has everything to do with him as a leader! Your public blessing as a person comes from your private integrity that nobody will ever see.
Is integrity is something people associate with you? It is hard learning to be a person of integrity based the examples we see in the world today. Injustice is all around us. It’s almost impossible to find people who keep their promises and practice what they preach anymore. People make a pledge to do something and then don’t follow through. What does God think about it when people ‘change their mind’ and don’t honor an agreement?
Integrity is keeping a commitment even after circumstances have changed. My grandfather shared a story about his father in-law that has stuck with me. My great grandfather was a rancher in New Mexico, and one year he and some fellow ranchers decided to branch out from cattle and start farming the land. They took out a large loan to purchase the equipment they needed to start farming their land. Their timing was very unfortunate as it coincided with the “Dust Bowl” (1930-1936). They lost everything. Although it came with great sacrifice, time and loss, my great grandfather paid off the debt. His portion and his partners portions when they did not keep their word. My great grandfather was known as a “Man of his Word”.
God uses little things to test your integrity. We think it’s the big things in life that create a leader, but rather it is the big crises in life that reveal leadership. My great grandfather’s integrity was built in many small decisions culminating in his decision to honor his word and pay off his debts. Integrity is built in the small things. It shows up in the stuff that nobody sees, in the stuff behind the scenes, and in the small, unseen, unspectacular choices of life where you do the right thing even though nobody’s ever going to see it.
Proverbs 11:3 (NLT) says, “Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people.” Romans 12:3 (NLT) (The Apostle Paul said) “Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.” 1 Timothy 1:19 (NLT) Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.
Remember: Faithful with little, Joyful with Much
In His Grace,
Pastor Hamilton