Thinking Small, Thinking Big

In the past half a century we have watched as our world, including our beloved USA, has marched methodically into the societal abyss of “the last days perilous times” (II Tim. 3:1). The Bible says,

“For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, “Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, “Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. “For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. "Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. “But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.” —Vss. 2–9.

That powerful passage so accurately describes the religious crowd in our twenty-first-century world. It is the result of churches’ giving in to the world until you can’t tell one from the other. In such times genuine Christians can be trashed and thrashed so much, so often, that they become discouraged, disenchanted, and dismissive of their God-given, scripturally mandated responsibilities.

Even now if you listen you can hear it.

“What can we do?”

“We are so few and they are so many.”

“The war was fought and we lost.”

“All we can do is go along and get along.”

Well, before those whimpering voices start singing those themes in Sunday’s choir, let’s remember that Jesus ordered us to “occupy till I come” (Luke 19:13). That means we remain on duty. We keep on keeping on. We don’t quit. I believe that means we stop thinking small. We dream the dream again. We dig in and give it all we’ve got.

You may have heard of General Romulo (1898–1985) of the Philippines. He was a major player on the world stage for a number of years.

On one occasion he disagreed strongly with a Soviet proposal at a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. Andrey Vyshinsky, the head of the Russian delegation, challenged General Romulo’s credentials with this insulting jab, “You are just a little man from a little country.”

In a very quick response, Romulo said, “It is the duty of the little Davids of the world to fling the pebbles of truth in the eyes of the blustering Goliaths and force them to behave.” The Soviet spokesman retreated to his seat and sat down (Wikipedia).

I like General Romulo’s thinking. When facing something big, something seemingly insurmountable, it is not the time to run and hide. Thinking small won’t do the job.

Although David used “small” stones to handle a “big” problem, he certainly wasn’t thinking small.

If we are to “occupy” as Jesus told us to do, we cannot face the worldly, wicked giants of our day being intimidated or insecure.

We must believe God. We must be people with solid faith in the God who is almighty. We must stand true amidst the troubled times. We must proclaim the Gospel and all the counsel of God boldly, clearly, and fearlessly. We must not surrender the mantle entrusted to us until the trumpet sounds.

My dear friend, let’s leave off small thinking and start thinking big about what the Lord needs us to do in our day. Amen!