It Matters Much

A little here, a little there - a pinch here, a pinch there ... that seemed to be how my Nanny and my Mama measured ingredients. That hasn't worked so well for me! God said "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:5, ESV) then He repeated Himself "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37, ESV). I suspect it's at the word "all" where we get lost! Satan convinces us we're doing pretty good - we're mostly obedient. Oswald Chambers writes, "Beware of the thing of which you say — 'Oh, that does not matter much.' The fact that it does not matter much to you may mean that it matters a very great deal to God" (My Utmost for His Highest). Scripture is clear: it's the little foxes that spoil the vine (Song of Solomon 2:15) ... A little folly outweighs wisdom and honor (Ecclesiastes 10:1) ... The one who keeps the whole law but fails in one point is guilty of all of it (James 2:10). With God, "nothing is a mere detail" (Chambers). That little-here and little-there is a spiritual-life killer! Perhaps a good rule to remember is when we think it matters little, to God ... it matters much!