Entrusted with More - Martin Wiles

If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. Luke 16:10 NLT

 

I was faithful with a little, and she gave me more.

 

As I sat in the backyard on our old glider, looking at all our doo dads and old things that hung on the privacy fence and sat around in the yard, I noticed what rust had done. Paint peeled from our old milk cans. Things once black now boasted a completely orange shade. And the glider I sat on? Every color it had ever been painted bled through as rust ate away each layer and the paint peeled away.

 

Looking at a set of wind chimes with a bell and a bird on top that I had given my wife years ago, I decided to check the storage building for black spray paint. Sure enough, I had a little. I sprayed the chimes. They looked so good I decided to paint the shepherd’s hook they hung on. Then I moved on to the rooster bell that hung by the back gate. Proud of my work—and out of paint—I decided to check the shed for more. Two more cans. What more could I paint? I moved on to the two old milk cans. By this time, I had run out of paint.

 

Peeking my head in the door, I shouted for my wife, “Come look at what I did.”

 

She liked my work—but quickly said, “Why don’t you paint our outside table and chairs.”

 

Off to the store she went to buy more paint. She got the cheapest kind, which ran like water when I sprayed it, but I used it anyway. Chairs and table painted.

 

“Why don’t you paint the glider also,” she asked when I finished.

 

Back to the store I went, but for a higher grade of spray paint. Three cans later, I had painted the glider. All of our outside furniture and implements matched, and the rust had been held at bay—at least for a while. I did a good job with little, and my wife entrusted me with more.

 

Jesus told of a rich man who had a manager who wasted the rich man’s money. The manager, knowing he was about to be fired, went to those who owed his master money and reduced their debt, thinking they would help him once his boss fired him. Although not agreeing with his manager’s actions, the rich man praised his ingenuity. Jesus concluded by saying if we are faithful with little things, we will be faithful with larger ones, too.

 

God has work for us to do. The work He gives us typically starts on a small scale. When we prove our faithfulness with the little things, He often gives us larger or more important tasks to complete. Of course, God already knows how we’ll perform with the small tasks, so our faithfulness is for our benefit, not His.

 

And God’s work has meaning. He doesn’t just give us busy work to keep us … well … busy. God’s jobs have Kingdom implications. They make a local impact … and sometimes a world impact. Perhaps, even an eternal impact.

 

God notices our motives when we work for Him, and when our motives are pure—unlike those of the shrewd manager—God entrusts us with more. Our duty is to be faithful and ensure God receives all the credit for the outcome. After all, this life is not about us, but Him.

 

Tweetable: Do your best with what God entrusts to you.

 

Father, prompt me to do the best with the work You give me to do. 

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