“For the want of a nail the shoe was lost,
For the want of a shoe the horse was lost,
For the want of a horse the rider was lost,
For the want of a rider the battle was lost,
For the want of a battle the kingdom was lost,
And all for the want of a horseshoe-nail.”
Benjamin Franklin included the above words in Poor Richard's Almanack in 1758, along with the proverb, "A little neglect may breed great mischief." It hung on the wall of the Anglo-American Supply Headquarters in London to remind people of the importance of what seemed like trivial parts (citadel.edu). A machine may be made of a literal million parts, including small nuts and bolts, but lose one of them and the machine will no longer operate at full capacity.
The same is true of people. In God's kingdom, everyone is important. Everyone has a function, a role, a purpose in His plan, according to his abilities. I might think my ability so small that it won't matter if I ignore it, and so just sit back and watch everyone else work. Jesus said, "And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you he shall in no wise lose his reward" (Matt 10:42). So if I don't do that small insignificant thing, what does that mean about my reward?
For the next several weeks, usually Monday or Wednesday, we will have a series I call "Some Really Big Little Lessons." Each one includes a Bible person we seldom think much about because so little is said about them, but we will discover how important they really were in the things they did and especially the examples they set for us today. And in the process, I hope we will all learn that judging our abilities and actions is not our job, but God's, and that if we just have the faith to do what little we can, He is powerful enough to use it in a way we could never have imagined.
But now finish the task as well, that just as there was eagerness to desire it, so there may also be a completion from what you have. For if the eagerness is there, it is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have (2Cor 8:11-12).
Dene Ward
For the want of a shoe the horse was lost,
For the want of a horse the rider was lost,
For the want of a rider the battle was lost,
For the want of a battle the kingdom was lost,
And all for the want of a horseshoe-nail.”
Benjamin Franklin included the above words in Poor Richard's Almanack in 1758, along with the proverb, "A little neglect may breed great mischief." It hung on the wall of the Anglo-American Supply Headquarters in London to remind people of the importance of what seemed like trivial parts (citadel.edu). A machine may be made of a literal million parts, including small nuts and bolts, but lose one of them and the machine will no longer operate at full capacity.
The same is true of people. In God's kingdom, everyone is important. Everyone has a function, a role, a purpose in His plan, according to his abilities. I might think my ability so small that it won't matter if I ignore it, and so just sit back and watch everyone else work. Jesus said, "And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you he shall in no wise lose his reward" (Matt 10:42). So if I don't do that small insignificant thing, what does that mean about my reward?
For the next several weeks, usually Monday or Wednesday, we will have a series I call "Some Really Big Little Lessons." Each one includes a Bible person we seldom think much about because so little is said about them, but we will discover how important they really were in the things they did and especially the examples they set for us today. And in the process, I hope we will all learn that judging our abilities and actions is not our job, but God's, and that if we just have the faith to do what little we can, He is powerful enough to use it in a way we could never have imagined.
But now finish the task as well, that just as there was eagerness to desire it, so there may also be a completion from what you have. For if the eagerness is there, it is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have (2Cor 8:11-12).
Dene Ward
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