We often tend to think that the little things we do in life don’t count for much. We think that the little acts of service or the small acts of kindness we do go largely unnoticed. This simply is not so. Often it is the little things that count the most. In part, I think, this is because the little things we do often come from the heart, not from a desire to be recognized or praised by others. In 1 Corinthians 12 the apostle Paul points out that the parts of the “body” or congregation that are considered by some to be “weaker” or “less honorable” (verses 22-23) are necessary for the proper functioning of the congregation. Without these “unpresentable” parts the church cannot be what it should be and cannot do what it must do. We should never let the fact that we may not be able to do great things for the church or for others keep us from doing what we can do. And those who can do great things should never look down on those who can’t.
In the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30 each of the three servants was only expected to do what he was capable of doing, no more, but no less either (vs. 15). The one talent man was called “wicked and lazy” not because he was unable to do what the five talent man or the two talent man did, but because he failed to do anything with the one talent he was given. Let each of us seek to do what he or she can in God’s service and in service to others no matter how great or small that service may be. After all, Jesus said in Matthew 10:42, “And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”