Does God Care About the Little Things I Do?

Many of us have heard the cliché, “Little things mean a lot,” but do we really believe that? Do we truly realize how important little things that we do can be?

In Proverbs 30:24-28, King Solomon mentions four creatures (i.e. ant, coney, locust, and spider) that we view as being small and insignificant; yet, in God’s sight, they are considered exceedingly wise. The Bible speaks of a town just a few miles south of Jerusalem known as “the house of bread” or Bethlehem that was among the smallest and most insignificant towns in Israel but from it was born the King of kings and Lord of lords (Micah 5:2). Furthermore, Jesus once compared the kingdom of God to the greatest of all herbs, growing as a large tree that would give shelter to the birds of the air; yet it had its beginnings as a tiny mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32). As the Lord told Samuel, “the Lord seeth not as man seeth” (I Samuel 16:7); God does not look on the outward appearance but rather on the heart.

In Acts 9, we read of a woman named Tabitha (also known as Dorcas) who did all sorts of good works and almsdeeds, and by some, her activities may have been considered small matters. Yet, when she died, all the widows were crying and showing the clothes that she had made for them. We know from this account that Tabitha was raised from the dead by Peter, and he presented her alive to the saints and the widows.

On another occasion, Jesus sat and watched people dropping their gifts into the temple treasury. He may have been sitting in order to rest a little after having delivered His discourse on the seven woes of which Luke provides a brief summary (Luke 20:45-47). It is probable that Jesus was sitting in the area of the Women’s court where thirteen trumpet-shaped chests were located. While many were casting in of their abundance, Jesus took special notice of a poor widow who cast two mites into the treasury (Luke 21:1-4). Each of these mites was about 1/8 of a cent (a very small amount in comparison to what others were giving). Yet, in spite of its smallness, Jesus said that her gift was greater than all the rest, because whereas they gave of their abundance, she gave of her want.

There are so many little things that we as Christians can do to encourage someone or brighten his or her day. A smile for someone in the grocery store, a card to someone who is sick or in need of encouragement, a phone call to let someone know that you were thinking of him or her, a visit to a shut-in, a meal to a family who has lost a loved one, a word of encouragement to a fellow brother or sister in Christ, and so many other seemingly small actions can really make a difference in someone’s life.

When we perform those seemingly small kind deeds to others, particularly those of the household of faith, we are reminded in Matthew 25:24-30 of how when we do these to our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are actually doing them to our Lord Jesus Christ. May we keep this extremely significant fact in mind and continue in showing kindness to those around us.

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Filed under: Devotional, Michael Carter on February 7th, 2010