Sometimes, You Need to Sweat the Small Stuff

 November 5, 2024

Tuesday

Small mistakes can make a big difference. In 1631, a Bible was printed that altered the seventh commandment. It read, "Thou shalt commit adultery." It left out one small word and was deemed the "wicked" Bible from that point on. The Challenger disaster was due to O rings They may have been among the smallest parts of the launch vehicle but they were the cause of the deaths of the entire shuttle crew.

Adam being quiet while Eve talked with Satan seems like a small thing. He just didn't object. He just didn't defend her. He let things go until they got out of hand. He took the easy road. This is the biggest disaster in all of human history.

I commonly hear people say, "Don't sweat the small stuff." However, first, everyone needs to be able to discern what the small stuff is. The printers of the 1631 Bible would say that ignoring the small stuff was disastrous. The people who went ahead with the launch of the Challenger would have said that ignoring the small stuff was disastrous. Adam must have said that too at some point. I think that we who have inherited a sin nature would agree that the small stuff sometimes makes huge differences.

Satan is subtle. He is not so "in your face" as he is depicted in movies. He maneuvers us to greater sins by getting us to make small concessions. Too many pastors have fallen into sin because they didn't notice the small stuff. They didn't notice that the counseling sessions were going toward personal sin. They didn't notice that they needed to flee temptation. They were convinced that they were impervious to the sin they would eventually cave into.

So, we confront Satan and flee temptation. We ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to the small stuff so that we can act before it acts on us. There comes a point when it is very difficult to say no. Most will not if they don't notice the small stuff before it becomes a disaster.

Genesis 3:1–6 (NASB 2020)¹ Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” ² The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; ³ but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” ⁴ The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! ⁵ For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.