Few things get bigger

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much...” (Luke 16:10, NIV)
Are we faithful in the little things that life faces us with? Or are we always waiting for that big opportunity to stand up for Jesus and bring others to salvation?
Well, what we very often tend to forget is that before God can use us greatly to be a blessing to many, we have to prove ourselves by being faithful in little things; things which are part of our everyday life and which may seem quite insignificant to us in the larger scheme of things. In Luke 19:11-7 Jesus tells his disciples the parable of the 10 servants who were given 1 mina each and asked to do business with it. In that parable we read, ‘Well done, good servant, because you were faithful in very little, have authority over 10 cities’ (Luke 19:17). In Luke 16:10 Jesus says another parable where he 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.’
Now, what does it mean to be faithful in little things? Do we realize that we are, each day of our lives, living through that test? Perhaps it is because we have not passed that yet that God cannot fully use us the way He would have liked or planned. Will we miss the perfect will of God in our lives, just because we were not faithful in the little things?
Here are some of the little things that all of us face in our lives.
1.Not being ashamed to let our friends know that we do believe (and follow) Christ, even if that may mean some temporary ridiculing. (Matt 10:32-33, Luke 12:8-9 – Whoever confesses me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God, but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God). This is one of the most difficult challenges I have faced. There are times in the past when I have not wanted to disclose the fact that I believe strongly in Jesus (for fear of being ridiculed by some unbelievers). I may not have denied Jesus, but I conveniently made sure that I did not put myself in a situation where my faith would be exposed.
2.Being faithful with all matters of money and belongings that don’t belong to us.
3.Not gossiping or talking in a derogatory manner about others behind their backs. Many times, even if we ourselves may not say much, when our friends do so, we may just stand around, laughing and enjoying with them. Is that because we don’t want to be seen as being ‘different’ from them? (Ref Ephesians 4:29, Titus 3:1)

4. Problems of ego, pride, selfish ambition, ‘Me first, others later’ attitude, anger and frustration when others take the credit that is due to us (at work perhaps).
5. Lying in matters small or big (another huge challenge many of us keep facing). (Colossians 3:9 – Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with his deeds)
6. Corrupt practices, cheating etc, which are considered okay and sometimes even as ‘smart’ by the world. Many times we may find ourselves going with the flow for fear of standing up for what we believe in and would end up doing something that is not right. Sometimes when people suggest to us corrupt or wrong ways of doing things, instead of telling them that our conscience would not permit us to do that, we may just keep quiet or nod our heads in agreement, although we may not actually follow their advice. This again is because we don’t want to be seen as ‘different’.
7.Being stingy or greedy for money or some other possessions.
Can people see a difference in the way we behave in our daily activities? If they don’t see a difference, that’s either because we are as much a part of this world system as they are or because we are too ashamed to let the world know that we aren’t. How then can we be called followers of Christ?
In Matthew 12:33 Jesus says that a tree is known by its fruit. Putting up a board reading ‘mango tree’ in front of a banana tree is not going to make it any less identifiable as a banana tree. Going to church every Sunday and going to prayer meetings is not what identifies us as Christians. It’s the way we live our everyday life that does. (Refer Galatians 5:16-26 for a concise instruction on Christian living)
In scripture, the prophet Elisha told a man named Naaman to go wash in the Jordan River and he would be cured of his leprosy. Naaman was the Captain of an army, a very influential man. He didn’t want to go wash in the dirty Jordan River. His attitude was, “That’s absurd. That’s little. That’s insignificant. That’s not going to make any difference.” His assistant said, “Naaman, if he would have asked you to do something hard, something big, you would do it. Why don’t you do this small thing?” Naaman finally went and washed in the Jordan, and he was totally healed.

I wonder how many of us would see our breakthrough, our healing, our promotion, or a dream come to pass if we would just do the small thing that God is asking us to do. People think, “Oh, it doesn’t really matter. I’ll do it one day.” But realize today, those little things mean a lot. They are keeping you from the fullness of your destiny. It may be something small, but your act of obedience will cause God to release the big thing that He has in store.
It means obey, believe and live in integrity... God bless