Minute Meditations

In a book entitled ”The Widow O’Callaghan’s Boys,” Jim, one of the boys, wants to know if his mother thinks he can have a bank one day. ”There you go, Jim,” says his mother. ”If you’ve got a bank in your eye, you’d best pay attention to your dustin’ and dishwashin.’ That’s your first two steps. The Lord never puts little boys and big jobs together. He gives the little boys a chance at the little jobs, and then as they do the little jobs faithfully get to be the big men that do the big jobs easy.”

This was good advice the Widow O’Callaghan gave her son but a greater than she said, ”He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much.” Moffatt’s translation adds, ”He who is dishonest with a trifle is also dishonest with a large trust.”

Jesus recognized that which we so often forget: that life is made up of small things. Life is not a little bundle of big things, but a big bundle of little things. What a multitude of little things compose our day! From the time we get up in the morning until we retire at night, our energy is consumed in the doing of a thousand little things. How well and accurate are we in all these little things we do?

Jesus’ point is, ”If, then, you have not proved trustworthy with the wealth of this world, who will trust you with the wealth that is real?”

Today most people do not think that it is wrong to take small things that belong to another. Those who would not think of robbing a bank or stealing a car think nothing at all of using company stamps for personal mail or xeroxing their favorite recipes on the boss’s machine. Unless we have received specific permission from. someone who has the authority to give it, we should be careful not to take anything that does not belong to us, no matter how small it may be.

Only recently we heard a business man remark that cheating no longer bothered him since the government was making crooks out of everyone and it was the only way he could get ahead. This feeling is common today but it must not affect Christ’s true brethren and sisters. We need to be faithful and truthful no matter what.

Since we are all children in God’s eyes, he is now giving us the little jobs to do as Mrs. O’Callaghan gave her boy dustin’ and dishwashin’ chores. God is watching to see how faithful we are with the things of this world. If we have cut corners here and there how can we expect Christ to give us the wealth that is real when he comes?

There is a true story about an elderly business man who hired a bright young fellow to learn the business fully intending to turn it over to him upon retirement. The young man was caught tapping the till and promptly discharged. For stealing a few paltry dollars he lost the entire business.

Whatever we might do that would keep us from receiving Christ’s approval at his return is much too high a price to pay for whatever we might gain immediately. Let us all resolve to be faithful in the small details of this life so that Jesus when he returns will say to us, ”Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”