Little Things Done for God

"There are many of us that are willing to do great things for the Lord, but few are willing to do little things." Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899)

I have said before that I don't think God cares about our results; any results of our Spirit-led actions belong to God.  What He wants from us is our obedience.  We may never even know the results of our actions and we really don't know which actions God considers to be "great" and which He considers to be "little."

"But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching." Mark 6:4-6.  Jesus did not consider a few miraculous healings to be a great work. 

Whose Name Is On Your Foot?

Many of the people associated with Pixar Studios (Toy Story,  Wall-E,  Finding Nemo, etc) are openly Christian so it is not surprising to find Christian elements in their films, though the films themselves are clearly secular.   In the Toy Story series of films, steadfast and loyal Sheriff Woody, a floppy-limbed cowboy doll, continually asks the other toys, "Whose name is on your foot?"  He reminds them that they belong to Andy and that their purpose is to attend to Andy.  They are marked by their owner.

Many people don't like that concept.  They refuse to accept that we all belong to, are owned, by someone or something.  It may be a political or economic philosophy, a religious denomination, a cultural movement, sports, the pursuit of pleasure or wealth; anything which consumes our attention and loyalty.

The Bible clearly understands that we all are marked.  We all belong to someone.  Some belong to God.

Ezekiel 9:14  "And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof."

Revelation 7:2-3  "Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”

Revelation 22:4 "And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads."

Some belong to Satan.

Revelation 17:4-5  "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."

Revelation 13:16  "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, 

to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:" 

Whose name is on your foot?

Don't Be a Sausage

Silvanus (aka: Silas, fl. 1st century) was probably Peter's amanuensis (scribe) and, according to Roman Catholic tradition, went with Peter and John Mark to Rome in 42 AD/CE. He is also known to have been a companion of Paul. His most famous teaching is "Do not be a sausage which is full of useless things."

We are to devote all of our attention and resources to serving God (Deuteronomy 6:5; Romans 12:11-12; 1 Peter 2:12; Psalms 19:7, 10-11.), so what did Silvanus mean by "useless things"?

In the Christian context a useless thing could, of course, be mindless accumulation of things, but what Silvanus was probably talking about were personal distractions or hindrances to one's Christian witness and/or things about the believer which could cause distractions or hindrances to others.

Useless things to a Christian could be: pride, always having to prove that you are "right," gossip and judgementalism, hobbies which obsess you, failure to forgive (especially when they don't "deserve" it), and church "busyness." Useless things are things you would throw away to lighten yourself when the Devil was chasing you.