Little Things Matter

“Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth graet things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!” -James 3:5

Yesterday, as I was trying to act goofy to get a laugh out of my daughter Ella, I bounced off our bed and my kneecap landed square against the angle-iron of our bedframe. For several hours, I wondered if I’d broken it. I couldn’t straigten it out, bend it, or lift it. It was red, swollen, and hot to the touch. We proceeded to go to the Mall twenty minutes away for a family outing and I hobbled around until I couldn’t stand it any longer. If it didn’t get better by Monday, I was heading to the Doctor.

Thankfully, by Sunday morning, I could bend my leg and the swelling was gone. The whole experience was a reminder of how much one little body part can mean to the body. With an injured kneecap, there are so many things you can’t do that you normally don’t think twice about.

James says our tongues are like that too. Compared to the rest of the body, we wouldn’t think the tongue such a significant part, but it can do great damage to people’s lives. There again, it can also build up and edify others. A word we utter may demolish or establish someone’s confidence.

God has designed the world in such a way that little things matter a lot. From the tongue to the kneecap, to the people who might be passed over as insignificant by the world, God uses little things in big ways. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul makes this same application to the church as the “body of Christ.” Every member is important. Every role is significant. And every member is dependent on every other member, no matter how “small” a role they may play. You may feel “small” today, but God can use you to hold His church together, to influence a lost soul for eternity, and to change a life forever!