Originally published Thursday, 28 March 2013.
Returning your shopping cart to the cart bin.
Not throwing your gum out the window.
Saying thank you when someone stays back one second longer to hold the door for you.
Actually throwing away your movie popcorn bucket instead of leaving it at your seat.
Not taking the Chilis honey mustard sauce home along with its’ container…(guilty).
All little things.
Most of which would never get you in any sort of real trouble.
There would be no warrant out for your arrest and you, most likely, aren’t the only one around doing it.
However, I have noticed lately that God seriously will NOT let me put my shopping cart just in the parking space beside me.
Ya know, you’re in a rush and it’s windy outside, so whomever fixes the shopping carts outside- they will fix it, right? Dude, you aren’t getting paid to do that so why should you.
Because it’s Godly.
Now, Lord have mercy, do not interpret this as me saying that Christianity is a set of legal rules that includes all sorts of subjects to the rules of movie-going to the rules of shopping for groceries.
No. All I’m saying is that we should start listening to that still, small voice inside you say, “Put that back, it isn’t yours.”
Or, “return the shopping cart. It will only take ten more seconds.”
And I have noticed that when I really do listen to this voice, in the tiniest of ventures, it makes a very large difference.
Often times, in situations like this where there seems to be no “personal reward” attached, being faithful is not fueled by our desires by rather by our obedience.
When it comes to others- when we stay faithful in the small things, we are eventually trusted with the big.
When it comes to ourselves- when we stay faithful in the small things, we are much more likely to be able to be trusted with the big.
You may still not want to put the shopping cart sometimes but the difference is that you do.
It could be these very small things that are keeping you from receiving all the blessing God has to offer you!
I know that seems crazy, because they’re trivial and meaningless, right?
But story after story in the Bible, God asks and tests His people to see if they will be obedient in the little things first.
Because the reality is, every task will eventually become “small.”
So how we treat what we determine as small tasks will eventually be how we treat the big tasks.
Maybe this all means nothing to you and that’s completely okay.
However, I challenge you to make that extra step.
Whether it means putting up your shopping cart.
OR even better, seeing someone who reminds you of the old you put it in a parking space, and YOU be the person to correctly roll it on back to its’ home.
I would bet that these little, unimportant tasks will change how you handle the big ones in your life.
And eventually, doing what is right will seem, well, just how it’s supposed to go.
So, CHALLENGE of the day is to notice what small things you handle with less care and make a point to do them right/with patience/with concern/correctly.
And yes, I recently returned a honey mustard dipping container to Chili’s and the manager smiled and gave me two in return.
He will trust you with the big things, right? TOLD YA!
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” -Luke 16:10
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