Faithful with little
“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much: and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much” Luke 16:10 NASB
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” Matthew 25:23 NIV
According to the Lord this is a vital principle and growth dynamic in the believer’s discipleship story. One of the key aspects of God’s grace in our lives is that He begins to change us from the inside out as he gives us a new birth, a new heart as part of his new creation.
The Lord Jesus taught his disciples that God sees and rewards faithfulness in the totality of our lives as image-bearers (Genesis 1:26-28). He calls and teaches us to STEWARD all aspects of our lives and he repeatedly admonishes us in Scripture that this matters to Him! Those who are faithful in smaller matters are seen by God as being trustworthy and are ‘put in charge of many things’ (the Lord’s words not mine) and rewarded (God’s promise!). Those who struggle with aspects of this whole Kingdom mindset may reflect on the fact that this reveals a deeper gravitational pull at a heart and obedience level towards the black-hole that is sin along with its enticements,
“but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed” James 1:14
We may tend to only think of sin in relation to more scandalous sins like sexual immorality or fraud or violence or drug addiction etc.? However we fail to see that the Lord is in fact ALSO interested in the smaller details, the basic building blocks of our lives, too! This is the core of obedience.
This faithfulness touches on aspects of normal life. Here are some examples of how we can be faithful in little…..
…..how we use our tongues, what we allow our minds to meditate upon, whether we are in unbelief towards God’s working in our lives, whether we are faithful in tithes and offerings to our local church, how we treat our spouse in private, whether we show kindness to strangers, harbouring resentment and unbelief rather than forgiveness and grace, too much social media on ‘company’ time, helping around the house, whether we use our gifts and time well for God, and so on!! The list is endless but hopefully this gives a taster! A taster of the fact that we are stewards of all aspects of our lives as image-bearers!
The big warning the Lord Jesus gives us in the NT is for us not to do things for the applause and accolades of man but to do it for the glory of God. Living for the glory of God in the audience of ONE (God!) is a big deal. He promises us that He sees that which is done in secret and that He will reward us for it! When we keep God as the object of our worship and live from our true identity as children of God, we become like Him. When we place ourselves at the centre then our worship and stewardship becomes selective, like a Chinese buffet, picking and choosing this and that but leaving out the bits we don’t find tasty or convenient! Obedience costs us. However, finding joy in obedience and faithful stewardship happens when we walk in the Spirit. The ‘flesh’ orientates us to SELF (read Galatians 5), whereas the Spirit leads us into a life of faithful and fruitful stewardship.
So if we habitually find ourselves in ‘selective’ obedience, based around ourselves, we need to take a fresh look at this. “No-one is perfect” (although true) should not become an excuse for ‘a la carte’ followership. The amazing thing is that being faithful to God is possible because God is always faithful to us and gives believers his Holy Spirit. We too can love Him with our lives because He has first loved us! So let’s crack on as image-bearers and explore total stewardship, not selective stewardship.
Faithful with little ruler over much!