““One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.” (Luke 16:10, ESV)
In the late 1800’s, an Evangelist preached in a large tent in Iowa. Hearing the gospel one night, a young man came forward to the altar and was considered saved. The young man hailed from a small farming community and was from a very poor family. He could not read nor write. His name was Fred.
A short time after being saved, Fred came to the Evangelist begging to work for the man. The Evangelist told him, “Fred, you could not go with us in this work. You can scarcely read. What could you do?” The man could not read the tracts given to the newly saved. He could not read scripture at the events. He couldn’t even read a map to make arrangements for the traveling missionary work the group performed. Despite the Evangelist’s comment, Fred told the man, “I could take care of the tent. I could shine your shoes. I’d do anything you need, but I feel I must go with you.” Bewildered by the faith of the man, the Evangelist decided to take him on anyway.
Fred ended up being an amazing man of faith and a very hard worker. Day after day, Fred was invaluable at doing the thousand little jobs required for a successful Evangelism event. He became the head caretaker of the meeting tent. And what came out over the years stunned all. Fred could speak to some people in the simplest but most effective of ways. His demeanor was humble and forthright. In his years with the traveling Evangelism team and by the grace of God, Fred alone was solely involved in the conversion of over 1200 people. Often, the Evangelism team would leave the tent after a late night of work seeing Fred praying with someone in the shadows. This poor, uneducated, and illiterate man was an amazing witness and evangelist for Jesus Christ, to the astonishment of many. R. A. Torrey even wrote about Fred in a 1907 compendium of Biblical Illustrations!
Fred was, as Jesus noted in our scripture for today, faithful in very little and yet faithful in much (Luke 16:10). I have found in my years of ministry that those who can be trusted to be faithful in little things are often very capable of being faithful with big works. I have also seen people who took on big jobs in the church only to fail. Why? In some of those cases, it was because their faith was not up to the task. They were not proven faithful with little things in life. So, why were they given jobs in the church requiring a big faith?
Charles was the eldest son of a pastor from a large church in Detroit. Growing up, he had a keen intelligence. He was an insightful young man. He was easy to get to know. He was fun-loving and a joy to be around. During his late teen years, a Deacon from the church told the pastor that his eldest son would make a perfect pastor. The pastor responded that Charles would not make a good pastor yet. The Deacon was shocked, thinking the pastor too hard on his son. The pastor responded, “Charles hasn’t learned to be faithful in the little things. He jumps at the chance to do big things for God but can’t be counted on to be faithful in his day-to-day tasks.” The Deacon disagreed. Discreetly, he went to Charles urging him to go into the ministry.
Over the next year, God revealed to the Deacon his mistake. Putting Charles under his wing, the Deacon put the young man in charge of a very important missionary event at the church. The event turned out to have all kinds of problems. The house that the missionaries were meant to stay was not prepared. The special diet of the sickly daughter of the missionaries was not carefully prepared and she became ill after several days. Even when the missionaries were meant to travel to several destinations, their rides were not arranged. Someone dropped the ball. A dozen different little and big responsibilities were missed by Charles. Oh, he was a gracious host. Charles was a great conversationalist. His “fun time” for the missionary family was a joy. But so many aspects of the missionary work were delayed, mishandled, and forgotten. Finally, the Deacon understood his pastor’s meaning. Charles was not good at fulfilling the many little aspects of faith required in overseeing the care of the missionaries. How could he lead a church?
In our scripture for today, Jesus not only spoke about faith. He also spoke about dishonesty. Just as a person is faithful or unfaithful, a person is either honest or dishonest. Those with true faith can be found faithful even in the little things. In similar manner, those who are dishonest in big ways are also dishonest in the little aspects of life.
I find it interesting that the Feds never found Al Capone guilty of murder or racketeering or some other big crime. Capone had done all these things and much worse. However, what the Feds did convict Al Capone of doing was tax evasion. Capone was known to commit horrible sins. However, even in the little things, Capone was dishonest. He cheated many people out of a long life through murder. AND, simultaneously, he cheated the Federal Government out of taxes. He had two sets of financial records.. one for the government and one that had the true numbers. Capone was not dishonest in one area of his life alone. He was dishonest all over the place!
The scripture for today is a clear reminder that the soul of both sinner and saint is defined by the little and big things of life. The dishonest sinner can be counted on to fail in both little and big ways. The unfaithful sinner can be counted on to fail God in little and big ways as well. Honest and faithful people are rare in this world. But one thing is sure. You can tell them apart by the way they handle the little aspects of their lives. The faithful and honest will be trustworthy in all the little ways that count. It is proof to God that they were ready for great things!
A short time after being saved, Fred came to the Evangelist begging to work for the man. The Evangelist told him, “Fred, you could not go with us in this work. You can scarcely read. What could you do?” The man could not read the tracts given to the newly saved. He could not read scripture at the events. He couldn’t even read a map to make arrangements for the traveling missionary work the group performed. Despite the Evangelist’s comment, Fred told the man, “I could take care of the tent. I could shine your shoes. I’d do anything you need, but I feel I must go with you.” Bewildered by the faith of the man, the Evangelist decided to take him on anyway.
Fred ended up being an amazing man of faith and a very hard worker. Day after day, Fred was invaluable at doing the thousand little jobs required for a successful Evangelism event. He became the head caretaker of the meeting tent. And what came out over the years stunned all. Fred could speak to some people in the simplest but most effective of ways. His demeanor was humble and forthright. In his years with the traveling Evangelism team and by the grace of God, Fred alone was solely involved in the conversion of over 1200 people. Often, the Evangelism team would leave the tent after a late night of work seeing Fred praying with someone in the shadows. This poor, uneducated, and illiterate man was an amazing witness and evangelist for Jesus Christ, to the astonishment of many. R. A. Torrey even wrote about Fred in a 1907 compendium of Biblical Illustrations!
Fred was, as Jesus noted in our scripture for today, faithful in very little and yet faithful in much (Luke 16:10). I have found in my years of ministry that those who can be trusted to be faithful in little things are often very capable of being faithful with big works. I have also seen people who took on big jobs in the church only to fail. Why? In some of those cases, it was because their faith was not up to the task. They were not proven faithful with little things in life. So, why were they given jobs in the church requiring a big faith?
Charles was the eldest son of a pastor from a large church in Detroit. Growing up, he had a keen intelligence. He was an insightful young man. He was easy to get to know. He was fun-loving and a joy to be around. During his late teen years, a Deacon from the church told the pastor that his eldest son would make a perfect pastor. The pastor responded that Charles would not make a good pastor yet. The Deacon was shocked, thinking the pastor too hard on his son. The pastor responded, “Charles hasn’t learned to be faithful in the little things. He jumps at the chance to do big things for God but can’t be counted on to be faithful in his day-to-day tasks.” The Deacon disagreed. Discreetly, he went to Charles urging him to go into the ministry.
Over the next year, God revealed to the Deacon his mistake. Putting Charles under his wing, the Deacon put the young man in charge of a very important missionary event at the church. The event turned out to have all kinds of problems. The house that the missionaries were meant to stay was not prepared. The special diet of the sickly daughter of the missionaries was not carefully prepared and she became ill after several days. Even when the missionaries were meant to travel to several destinations, their rides were not arranged. Someone dropped the ball. A dozen different little and big responsibilities were missed by Charles. Oh, he was a gracious host. Charles was a great conversationalist. His “fun time” for the missionary family was a joy. But so many aspects of the missionary work were delayed, mishandled, and forgotten. Finally, the Deacon understood his pastor’s meaning. Charles was not good at fulfilling the many little aspects of faith required in overseeing the care of the missionaries. How could he lead a church?
In our scripture for today, Jesus not only spoke about faith. He also spoke about dishonesty. Just as a person is faithful or unfaithful, a person is either honest or dishonest. Those with true faith can be found faithful even in the little things. In similar manner, those who are dishonest in big ways are also dishonest in the little aspects of life.
I find it interesting that the Feds never found Al Capone guilty of murder or racketeering or some other big crime. Capone had done all these things and much worse. However, what the Feds did convict Al Capone of doing was tax evasion. Capone was known to commit horrible sins. However, even in the little things, Capone was dishonest. He cheated many people out of a long life through murder. AND, simultaneously, he cheated the Federal Government out of taxes. He had two sets of financial records.. one for the government and one that had the true numbers. Capone was not dishonest in one area of his life alone. He was dishonest all over the place!
The scripture for today is a clear reminder that the soul of both sinner and saint is defined by the little and big things of life. The dishonest sinner can be counted on to fail in both little and big ways. The unfaithful sinner can be counted on to fail God in little and big ways as well. Honest and faithful people are rare in this world. But one thing is sure. You can tell them apart by the way they handle the little aspects of their lives. The faithful and honest will be trustworthy in all the little ways that count. It is proof to God that they were ready for great things!