Little Things Matter
“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much”. Luke 16:10
Jesus told a parable, or perhaps it was a real event because He said that there was a “certain” rich man who had a servant that wasted some of the man’s money. People do that all the time. Employers provide credit cards for employees to use for the business, but some get a little greedy and a little bold and used the business card for their own personal purchases. I remember when I worked for a homebuilder, there was a superintendent who was doing warranty work, had been given a credit card to make purchases, and used it for his own purchases. He actually used it at a restaurant that is known for its scantily clad servers. He did get caught and eventually let go.
This rich man called the servant in and informed him that he was fired. The servant was mortified. He didn’t have any other skills on which to fall back. For some reason he couldn’t do manual labor, and he was ashamed to beg. He came up with an idea to collect what he could from the rich man’s debtors and then presented the collections to his former boss. The rich man was pleased, commending him for making this wise decision. Jesus didn’t say that the rich man rehired him, but I would suppose that he did. Jesus then urged His disciples to be shrewd like the folks who have very little scruples, but not in the same way as them. Use what one has to further God’s kingdom in an efficient and godly manner. Work harder but work smarter.
Believers are expected to be faithful in the smallest matters as well as the more significant ones. If we can’t be honest and faithful in something that seems insignificant to us, then why would God bless us with more important service to Him? There is no insignificant service to the Lord. Sometimes we get tested as to how we will react when given a decision to make, particularly about money. I was at a local home building supply store, selected what I wanted to buy, and was almost talked into joining their rewards program that would have allowed a $20 credit on my purchases. Most stores have these now. Your purchases earn you points that eventually can be used as a credit against a future purchase. I think they mostly want your e-mail address so that they can sell it or flood your in box with all sorts of “deals”. I would rather have them lower the prices rather than offer these reward programs. However, it is probably the wave of the future. The government tells us that inflation is down, but I am still paying the higher prices for everything that I buy. The coffee that I paid for last year for $8.50 is now $13.00. To me, inflation comes down when the prices come down, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon or probably ever.
Back to the story: this rewards program was for businesses, not individuals. However, the man said that all I had to do to register was to use my initials and last name, and after my name, put LLC (Limited Liability Company). I told him that I didn’t have a business, and he said that didn’t matter, but, to me, that really did matter. Like the title of this blog says, little things matter. When he said to put LLC after my name, I said that I didn’t feel comfortable doing that. He said something to the effect that if I felt like I was lying, then he understood. I said that it was lying, and that I was a Christian and didn’t feel right about faking a business just to save $20. Now, don’t get me wrong. I am certainly nowhere near perfect. I could have saved $20, but it would have bothered me to sign something that wasn’t true. For a believer to compromise one’s values is not worth any amount of money. Being faithful and honest in a small matter helps us to be faithful in the larger matters, but, like Jesus said, those who cheat a little will eventually cheat a lot. What is it that we have always been told? How about “Winners never cheat, and cheaters never win”?