Doing Small Hard Things
I like The Rebelution and the Harris’ brothers “teenage rebellion against low expectations,” and something I particularly like about their mission is that they focus on the importance of small hard things. In a recent entry, they discuss this issue again with a quotation from young blogger Tim Sweetman:
Many young Christians long for Christian “stardom,” desiring to do “big things” for God, and are often in sin when pride is the catalyst for their desire to be on that stage, literal or figurative.
(Read the rest of Tim’s article here.)
I’ve written about this before also, in my post The Little Faithfuls. I love to think that, were it not for thousands upon thousands of ordinary Christians all around the world doing small hard things every day, so much would be different.
The scribes who painstakingly copied Scripture by dim candlelight…
the white-collar workers who give faithfully to the cause of missions…
the illustrators of Bible storybooks for children…
the janitors who clean church bathrooms…
the missionaries who labor for years with little fruit or recognition…
the secretary who prepares the bulletin every Sunday…
the friend whose exhortation is perfectly timed and needed…
and countless others.
It’s easy to sit safely behind my computer screen and write about the importance of faithfulness in small difficulties. But the truth is, I have to get up and do things I really don’t want to do tomorrow. Small things, hard things. Will I be faithful?
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11-13)
Hannah
July 17th, 2008 @ 12:18 am
“I love to think that, were it not for thousands upon thousands of ordinary Christians all around the world doing small hard things every day, so much would be different.”
I love that. Good post.
I also suspect that while big hard things catch our attention, the little hard things may actually be harder, because we do them when no one is there to applaud us.
Zoe
July 22nd, 2008 @ 10:24 am
That is very true! I have been thinking on things related to this topic a lot lately.
courtney
July 23rd, 2008 @ 6:11 pm
how true it is and how sad also that most young people and even older folks us pride and gloryifying themselves to “do Gods work”. You are so right Anna, we need to really take it upon ourselves to do the little things. We are the servants of God, and if you think about what it means to be a servant… it means to do the little things for someone else.
We serve God therefore we are commanded to make the little things a big priority. We just forget sometimes.
Tori
July 24th, 2008 @ 6:08 pm
Anna, that is so good! What a simple but profound thought! It’s especially easy to feel that what you are doing is useless for the kingdom of God when you are a teenager like me – but if it weren’t for the “little things” people do/have done, where would we be?
Thank you for posting that!
Brianna
July 25th, 2008 @ 11:50 am
Thanks Anna…I appreciate the reminder that it doesn’t have to be earth-shattering to be “hard.” Suceeding (with Christ’s help) in the small and personally challenging “itsy-bitsy” stuff is hard (and God-glorifying) as well!