Have you ever seen something small become a huge problem? We think we can overlook small issues because they aren’t a big deal. We even believe that small things don’t matter much. Try tossing a pebble or small rock in the water and watch the size of the ripples it makes. Even the cricket shows us the impact of small things. He’s small, but his sound is surely heard. The Song of Solomon 2:15 reminds us to watch out for the little things. So do you have small things to take care of?
The Story: Joshua 7
In Joshua 7, Achan, a member of Joshua’s army, stole items set apart for the Lord. Unbeknownst to Joshua, he sent a few soldiers to attack Ai because they had a small army. Joshua expected success but Ai defeated them. The incident overwhelmed Joshua with grief. He didn’t understand how they lost the battle. As a result, he sought the Lord for answers. The Lord told Joshua to get up because there was sin in the camp. Because of the sin, the Lord told Joshua to purify the camp to remove the sin. He also said that the culprit would be burned along with everything he had.
Because of the command from the Lord, Joshua set about the task of uncovering the sin. The task was arduous as Joshua determined first the tribe, the the clan followed by the family. They finally uncovered Achan. The perpetrator confessed his sin and informed Joshua of the missing items’ location. As a result, the items along with everything Achan owned including him and his family stood before the Lord. The Israelites stoned and burned them.
The Lesson
Achan must have missed the lesson his parents taught him – Don’t touch anything that doesn’t belong to you. I digress. Achan knew that he wasn’t supposed to take anything; however, that didn’t change his actions. He thought the items were small things and no one would miss them.
How often do we do the same thing? We eat candy everyday and wonder why we can’t lose weight. Or we arrive then minutes late to work everyday and wonder why the supervisor wrote you up. These small actions can have major consequences. So how do we handle the small things so they don’t become larger ones? We review each area of our lives and make adjustments:
- How’s your mouth ~ Proverbs 15:1-33 confirms the need for a soft answer. Therefore, small cuss words or a little lie leads to more problems. So watch your words.
- How’s your actions ~ Titus 2:7 implores us that our actions should be an example. The hallmark of good behavior is integrity. So cutting people off on the highway is small but can lead to a serious attack. Therefore, monitor your actions.
- How’s your heart ~ Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us that the heart is deceitfully wicked. Therefore, we can’t trust our heart. So double check your heart.
One may think that watching your mouth, actions, and heart is a small thing. Attention to these areas allows us to check ourselves. We can examine how we’re showing up in the world. How are the small things impacting your life?
