LITTLE THINGS

By Rev. T.F. Tenney

Little things. We’ve heard it so often, “It doesn’t matter. It’s a
small thing.” “That’s too little to bother about.” “It’s so
inconspicuous, so no one will notice.” Little things…little things.

I read some statistics recently about leaking faucets that arrested my
attention. We’ve all been annoyed by the constant drip – drip of a
faucet that would not stop regardless of the applied pressure. Someone
might say, “Well, that’s not much water – just one drip at a time.”
Look at these statistics: There are 1,680 drops in one pint of water.
That means 3,360 to a quart. According to calculations it takes 30
minutes to accumulate that quart of water. That means that in 24 hours
you can accumulate 12 gallons; in one week, 84 gallons; in one month,
372 gallons, and in year 4,380 gallons. Now, that’s a tremendous amount
of water – and only one drip at a time. The statistics went a little
further. If the water costs $1.75 per 1,000 gallons, that would mean
one leaky faucet could cost $76.65 annually. Small things do make a
difference.

There are some people that think God doesn’t notice little things. It
was my old pastor that used to tell us, “That man that is too big to do
the little things is to little to do the big things. ” I learned long
ago that the triumph of God’s Church did not come by the gigantic
shoves of His champions, but by the gentle everyday nudges of His
everyday people who are God’s men and God’s women doing God’s work in
God’s way. Little things…little things! A precious saint who will
stop and pick up a piece of paper in the aisle of the church; another
who will remember the pastor’s wife on her birthday with a card or a
pie – just a little thing. A faithful man who will put an arm around
the shoulders of a little boy, pull him close and say, “Son, if I can
ever help you… ” We all need someone outside of our family committed
to our children. It is a small thing.

Just recently my wife received a letter from a young evangelist. He
reminded her of many years ago when he was just a boy in our church.
One day, Sister Tenney draw him aside in the aisle of the church and
simply said, “Roy, God will use you if you will let Him. He has a plan
for your life.” It was such a small thing that she forgot, but that
young man has never forgot it and finally it emerged into a fulfilled
call in the work of God. Little thing…little things. “Go to the ant,
thou sluggard, and learn of his ways…” He is a little creature, but
in corporate union they take care of their little things and
consequently they become a tremendous colony. You are not everybody,
but you are somebody. You cannot do all things, but you can do
something. There’s a little task somewhere calling for you. Little
things…

Sin always starts small. It is greedy. It never remains small. It
always wants more. It may have been just a glance and a smile at coffee
break and a lingering handshake that led to, well, all the way. You
never intended for it to go that far. It all started out so small. Then
there was the Pentecostal plumber, who, on a hot day, got quite
exasperated while under the house. He came out sweating profusely and
before he could think of what he was doing, he bounded across the
street and retrieved a cold beer and downed it. It was a little thing.
But, as always, it doesn’t stop there. There was a mother who said to
dad one summer day, “Let’s take off and go to Camp Meeting for a couple
of days.” He answered back, “No, it’s too hot. And besides that, I
don’t want to stand in those lines at the Dining Hall.” The little ears
of a son picked it up in the back seat. Several years later, dad wanted
to encourage him to go to Youth Camp. He was showing signs of
waywardness and drifting from God. The little boy said, “Naw, Dad, …I
don’t want to go. And besides, I don’t want to stand in line at the
Dining Hall.” Words have a way of coming back to haunt us. Just
remember, He said, “If you’ll be faithful over a few things, I will
make a ruler over many.” It pays to be diligent in noticing the little
things for God, His kingdom, and His people. It also pays to be
diligent in staying away from the little foxes that will spoil the
veins. As my old Grandmother used to say, “Son, take care of the
pennies and the nickels will take care of themselves.” The same adage
is true. Take care of the little things and you’ll be surprised how
you’ll be able to overcome the big things.

(The above information was published by the ILLINOIS DISTRICT NEWS, May
1992)

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