Home | Articles | Poetry | About The Author | Contact Us |
Not so long ago I came across music from a very talented female trio of sisters. They sang and played several instruments skilfully. Violin seems to be the most popular instrument played by all three together while singing vocals with beautiful harmony. Among my favourites from the Gothard Sisters are “Hummingbird” which is an instrumental piece, and “It’s the little things (that make the difference)”. Lilting music sung sweetly with clear lyrics in meaningful messages is really quite the perfect combination for me.
The latter song provided opportunity to think about the little things in life. These little things some of us tend to think of as random acts of kindness. Surprising a loved one with the simple pleasure of a picnic in the park or their favourite home cooked meal are just a couple of things that may bring enjoyment to you or others you know. You may think of other little things that you like to do for those around you in order to put a smile on their face or a spring in their step. These so called little things are achievable as long as we have the desire or motivation to love others in this way. That is one reason they are referred to as little things...they are not out of our reach. As is my custom these “little things” took me on a journey into our beloved Bibles. The phrase “little things” reminded me of a scripture found in Luke 16.
If we look at Luke 16:10-11 it says “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?”
There is quite a bit to absorb from this scripture because the meaning is profound. What God is saying to His children is that if we are to be entrusted with the eternal riches in His soon coming Kingdom where all will need to be faithful in spiritual wisdom — this translates into perfect righteous acts to benefit others — then we better be showing our Father here in this physical life that we can be faithful with the little we have been given now. This is mandatory because there is no other option. The big things seem to “speak” louder to me with pricking my conscience not to go there but the little things, especially the smallest of the small, seem to be much easier to discount or justify that it does not matter so much. No wonder we have Jeremiah 17:9 written for us to consider. If we do not pass this test while physical on earth we will not have the heart He needs for The Kingdom in order to be deemed faithful.
And so there was another place in the Bible I was led to that intrigued me, regarding a man who lived quite some time before Christ was born. Agur, the son of Jakeh, recognised that the physical, temporary things on this earth needed to be put in context with the enduring spiritual things from above, and a balance found in order to effectively live righteously. This account is found in Proverbs 30:7-9 where Agur requests two things from God. Namely, to have lies removed far from him, and secondly, to have neither poverty nor riches. Agur desired spiritual wisdom rather than the temporary physical things that the world offers. He was content with his daily quota from God rather than busying himself trying to store up treasures here on earth. Indeed God gives us another scripture to meditate upon regarding this very thing. We can find this wisdom in Matthew 6:19-21.
Agur is a fascinating individual of which hardly anything is written about his life except for the very little found in Proverbs. If we needed to know more, God would have provided. What is written for our inspiration and learning is for our focus to be sharp on the lessons we need to absorb rather than the focus elsewhere. Proverbs 30 in my Bible has the heading “The Wisdom of Agur” leading me to appreciate how Agur came to his conclusions, which lined up with living a righteous life. He must have intently observed his surroundings including the people of his day, and meditated deeply upon the various facets of human nature. If we read the whole of Proverbs 30 we can see character traits pertaining to pride, greed, lust, cruelty, self justification, denial of sin, and various forms of evil. Does this not describe our present day? 2 Timothy 3:1-5 is the scripture to be read concerning this.
At the conclusion of this matter it would benefit us with eternal life if we are able to be faithful in the little or small things, by practicing self control and wisdom in order to gain the bigger things, the greater things, the spiritual things. The little things now are necessary in order to show our beloved Father that we are listening, we are learning, we are growing in heartfelt obedience, by being faithful in all those little things in our daily life that may seem quite mundane. We must resist and overcome these thoughts because everything matters, especially the little things.