Sept 2024 OTJ small things become large
Missions Discipleship

Don’t Let Small Things Become Large

August 27, 2024 /

One day, my shower starting losing water pressure. Then my husband and I felt a warm sensation under our feet when we walked into our bedroom. Our carpet was soaked with warm water. We called a plumber and had to move all of the furniture out of the bedroom while he jackhammered the foundation floor to get to the leak. The plumber asked, “Do you want to see what caused the problem?” He handed me a pipe that had a very tiny hole in it. The tiny hole caused a huge problem.

It made me think about the Christian walk. Usually, tiny things that get out of control cause most of our turmoil and consume our time and energy.

As we begin a new church year, don’t let small things become large. Missional leaders are lifelong learners. What should you do when small things grow into large things? Here are ten suggestions.

  1. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s intervention. When things are difficult, appeal to the Holy Spirit for patience, guidance, and understanding before charging in.
  2. Consult God’s Word. Scripture is a treasure trove of practical advice about how to interact with people. Before you do anything, consult God’s Word.
  3. Reflect on your actions. Look at Matthew 7:3–5. Ask yourself, “What did I say or do? What didn’t I say or do?”
  4. Speak to the person involved rather than others. So often we speak to everyone else instead of the person we should.
  5. Don’t conspire with others. When we have a conflict with someone, nothing is more tempting than blowing off steam with a friend. We need to have the personal courage to refuse the allure of making ourselves seem better in our friends’ eyes while rushing to expose the flaws and weaknesses of others.
  6. Speak to one another with respect. See Proverbs 15:1.
  7. Recognize you don’t know their whole story. Knowing the hardships in someone’s life can give you an entirely new perspective on a situation. When we try to understand, perhaps we won’t be so quick to feel anger and annoyance.
  8. Love and forgive. See Ephesians 4:32. Love because you are loved. Forgive because you have been forgiven.
  9. Move toward restoration and harmony. Too often we work to win the argument. Instead, work to win the relationship.
  10. Think about what you can learn from the situation.

Father,

As we begin this church year, may we be guided by Your teachings in all we say and do.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Sandy Wisdom-Martin serves as executive director-treasurer of WMU, SBC.