One small thing can have a disastrous impact.
Last week I was getting my kids into the car to drive them to school, and discovered the car would not start. I had dealt with enough depleted batteries to know what was happening. Fortunately, I was able to track down a neighbor who could give me a jump, and after a few minutes my car was humming.
I get into the drivers seat, grab the shifter… and it won’t budge. There seemed to be nothing I could do to get the car into drive. At this point I’m at a loss for how an immovable car will get my kids to school, and begin searching keywords online. I discover there is a hidden manual override button for the shifter, needed in moments like when your car thinks the brakes are not being pressed. As it turned out, two days earlier I had gotten the tail lights replaced; I had my daughter look at the back of the car, and sure enough they were unresponsive to the brake pedal.
Fortunately, this one small button allowed me to shift, and I used my hazards to let other drivers know to drive carefully around me. Once home, the problem solving continued. Defective tail lights? But they had been working the previous two days. Tail light fuse? It seemed intact, and swapping it didn’t change anything.
Finally, I stumbled on an article that taught me about the brake switch, the go-between for the brake pedal and the tail lights. After some hunting, I found the related fuse, and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the connection burnt out. I replaced it, and my car was back to normal.
This all started with one small innocent mistake: the mechanic had taken my headlights off “auto”, and when I blindly turned them back while driving at dusk, I turned to “On”. The lights remained on for hours after, draining the battery just after midnight on the morning of my dilemma. It’s possible jumping my car with what turned out to be a new hybrid vehicle somehow burned out the one small fuse that locked the entire car. Fortunately, one small button I knew nothing about allowed me to drive, and one small fuse got things back to normal.
The Problem
One small thing can indeed have a disastrous impact, especially in life.
It’s likely not a struggle to think of a singular small thing you said or did that caused a series of unfortunate events; we can remember one small thought that created a robust false narrative, or one small choice that led to unexpected outcomes. We can do 99 things right, and the one wrong thing can ruin it all. As scripture puts it:
When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
James 3:3-5
Scripture constantly reminds us to be attentive to the little things, because the little things can be the undoing of us and those around us.
The Bad News
The bad news is, there is nothing you can do to stop this.
The Apostle Paul thought he could, and lived into the “perfect” life more than any of us:
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
Philippians 3:4-6
If you think you have confidence in your ability to avoid mistakes, he had more. By the book, he lived perfectly; and yet, he was unable to see that his “righteous acts” were actually creating persecution for those who would later be his brothers and sisters. Even more, he was persecuting the son of the very God he claimed to serve! (Acts 9:4) He should have known his righteousness would not be enough, because he had frequently heard Isaiah 64:6:
All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
“But surely when he became a Christ-follower, he figured it out!”
No. In fact, the more he listened to the Spirit, the more he became aware of his inability to avoid these disastrous missteps!
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.
Romans 7:15-19
The bad news is today you will likely do, say, or think something — even if small — that will have a negative impact.
The Good News
The good news is, one small thing can have a miraculous impact.
Where does Paul land on his diatribe about doing what he hates and not doing what is right?
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Romans 7:24-25
Do you know what this means? This is incredibly good news for those of us who know we can’t live perfectly, because living perfectly is not the answer.
The answer is Jesus.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:22,24)
But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. (1 John 3:5)
“Jesus” is not simply the classic “Sunday school answer”; there is real power and promise in the reality that what was impossible for us was made possible through him. This reality goes beyond the act of salvation to the small decisions you and I make today; Jesus demonstrated this by living out his Father’s will in every moment. As the Apostle Paul puts it:
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31
Pushing one small, previously-unknown button allowed me to shift gears and changing one small fuse made my car drivable; what is the one small thing we can do that is more powerful that the 99 missteps?
As Jesus puts it, “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.” (Matthew 6:33a)
The good news is you can decide to make your next word, action, or thought an act of seeking God first. Whereas “do it all for the glory of God” may feel unattainable, making your next small thing for Him is within your ability. I believe when you do so, you will notice a difference, or even see Him work, and that can prompt you to submit the next small thing. One day, you’ll discover a peace about seeking Him with a big thing. This is not about perfection, but pursuit: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” (Philippians 3:12)
In what small way can you pursue Him today? Let us know in the comments!
