Thought for Thursday
He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. Luke 16:10
A research firm placed 30 cell phones in each of 30 cities around the world, leaving them so it appeared someone had lost them. The idea was to determine how many of the phones would actually be returned by those who found them. To the credit of Swedes, all of the phones in a city there were returned. In Toronto, all but two were returned; in New York, all but four were returned. Those cities have honest people. The lowest scores were in Malaysia and Hong Kong, where only a few phones were returned. Folks in those places are apparently not nearly as honest. While it’s good to know that most people are fairly honest, it’s critical for us to know that all Christians are 100 percent honest. In the small things, we need to have an honest mind and attitude because that same mind and attitude will be reflected in the big things.
What can God trust you with? Can He allow you to handle His affairs with His interests higher than your own? Do you approach opportunities looking for the best for yourself or the best for God? Do you treat fellow Christians and total strangers as though the Lord Jesus was watching over your shoulder? When nobody else is around, are you as honest and trustworthy as when you have an audience? The answers to these and more questions reveal whether we are the faithful representatives of our Lord that He expects us to be.
Our text today reveals how God’s attitude is so different from ours. We often feel that it is the big things that matter, and we can get away with cutting corners on the small things. But God looks at the little things first. He judges us first by the little things. He tests us on small matters. If we pass the small tests, he can trust us for the big things.
If Christians can’t be trusted, we are without a testimony. We need to be people who display God’s character if we are to be His representatives. As the Lord Jesus was faithful, so we should also be faithful. -Jim MacIntosh