Molehill to Mountain
But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 1 Corinthians 8:9 NASB
Stumbling block – Nine miles roundtrip. Up the trail to the falls. Switchbacks. Steep elevation gains. Oh my, aches and pains. Then back down. Every step hurt. Finally on the flat trail again. Another hiker approaches going up. I look up, take a step forward and fall over my own feet to the ground. I have stepped on a small stone in the trail. Forget the fact that I just scaled cliffs, slippery rocks and thousands of feet of elevation. That little stone, the one I didn’t pay any attention to, brought me right to the ground. Completely unexpected. Completely embarrasing. The other hiker just looked at me like I was a total amateur. I admit I felt ridiculous. At least I didn’t break anything or twist anything. It was a moment of true humiliation after a victory over the heights.
There’s a spiritual analogy here. No one stumbles over a mountain but over a small stone. We pay attention to the big things. We carefully craft the important principles, the critical doctrines, the essential creeds. But what about those little stones? Perhaps we are more likely to fall down over the smallest details than the biggest confessions. When Paul exhorts the Corinthian believers not to become stumbling blocks to the weaker members of the assembly, perhaps he has the tiny details in mind. After all, it seems unlikely that an assembly can survive, let alone thrive, when the big blocks are not in place. God loves us. We can trust Him. We need His deliverance. The Bible is His word. Yeshua is the one He sent as the Messiah. His instructions are our guide for living. Big blocks like these. But what of the small stones, the ones that we don’t even notice. Those are likely to be our downfall.
Small stones. The unintended word received as criticism. The “look” that made someone feel rejected. Insistence that my exegesis is the right one. The demand that things be done my way. Forgetting to acknowledge the contribution of another. Neglecting to greet another. To compliment another. To bless another. To thank Him for an interruption. The small stuff. The things God is interested in—all those little details where His presence creates kairos moments in our chronos lives.
Unfortunately, we make stumbling blocks out of mountains. Rather than scaling the heights together, helping each other to the top, roping up for safety, we seem to insist that everyone climb the same way, prepare in the same way, take the same route. We look at the big mountain issues and turn them into stumbling stones. And all the while we forget about those little pebbles on the flat trail. Climbing mountains together requires trust. Trust is something earned, usually through the small interactions. If I don’t trust you, I won’t climb the heights with you. So if we are going to reach the summit together, we will have to begin the journey by learning to trust each other. It seems that our journey with God requires the same beginning. That raises an important question: What are you doing to build trust with the small things?
Topical Index: stumbling block, trust, 1 Corinthians 8:9
Skip you say it is better to do the small things correct than be known for the great things. Rather feed the multitude with just enough than to make the guest fat… Or rather 5 words of wisdom than 100 I cannot understand. Or if you have give now rather than say come back later…
The Way of the Small
Doris was right. “Liittle things mean a lot.” Yes, we should “sweat the small stuff.” We should be “faithful in that which is least.” It is the little foxes that spoil the vine. (Song of Solomon 2.15)
Several lifetimes ago, I was a Marine. One of my Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children. And what did they consistently attempt to drill into our green as a gourd – hard as a rock -heads? Attention to [every] detail. [Do] “sweat the small stuff.” Tiny (insignificant?) threads poking forth from buttons. Military alignment -all buttons and zippers. Shine those rusty screws on the bottom butt of our rifle.. Why? Why is it easier for us to see the “speck” in our brother’s eye while ignoring the beam in our own eye? Bringing EVERY thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ? But it’s only a “small” thought… A small seed is a very powerful thing! The mighty oak begins as a small acorn.
And speaking of small.. may we today, be mindful of the sparrow and of the God who attends sparrow funerals and of our God who knows and numbers every hair on every head! While we may be looking up to see the stars and to hear the rolling thunder, He is looking down with His merciful eye upon the sparrow!! Not only is He mighty, but He is mindful as well.
Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
it streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
and sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.
Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
in Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail;
Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end,
our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.
~ She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” ~ (Genesis 16.3)
Carl, my thoughts precisely. I enjoyed getting to know you a little better via your Marine stories. Thank you for your comments.
Good word, Carl!
This last year, after reading and listening to Skip’s work on Psalm 23, I made a decision to become a sheep and start acting like a human being. (Thank you, Skip and David!) This meant making a commitment to start handing over everything in my life that kept me from living in my moments. Difficult! All those BIG things – those insurmountable mountains that I had somehow gotten the idea at some point in the distant past were either punishments or tests – I had to hand over. Debt, taxes, straying and ‘lost’ grown children, the next right thing for me to become, and the awkward relationships with those closest to me – all of them on my plate, and all of them causing me to neglect some aspect of being or becoming human NOW. I realized that focusing on whatever kept me from that was a sin. Shocker!
I have slowly been coming to realize that I was shoving the ‘smaller’ things on the priority scale aside because I had to put all my primary effort into putting out the bigger fires. I had to cut the grocery budget because how could I eat well when I was looking at losing my home? I had to forget replacing wornout clothes or taking the time to drive a mountain road to nowhere and above all, forget quitting what I was currently doing for money to make time to clear out my life to make way for something bigger. It was irresponsible to drop everything to spend those extra hours on the phone with lonely people, not to mention entertaining the thought of reconfiguring my life entirely to flex around the life of another with the goal of clearing their clogs and using all my leverage to make the next right thing happen for them.
What I found when I turned over the big things, however, is that the time I have been taking to do those ‘smaller’ things listed above was exactly my part in clearing the way for God to be able to reset my life so that those insurmountable (from where I was standing) items could be dealt with. Not only have I been able to make a way for others to make money and increase value and live better lives: built into that process, I am getting the same thing! Amazing!
Along the way, some of the most challenging and stuck relationships in my life have been seeing huge progress and the miracles are amazing, too. And the time I have been taking to live NOW? For the first time, space has been clearing in my life to breathe and see the world in a more expansive light. In that place, I have been finding some amazing things out about others and myself; namely, the creative sides of people – most notably and shockingly, me! And in that creativity, I am starting to also see a better way to make those former mountains into molehills. When I started thinking and acting ‘rich’ (because my Daddy owns the cattle on a thousand hills), I have found that my life is starting to become richer, and all those thorny problems are seemingly starting to resolve themselves. The days when I thought I had to white knuckle righteousness and that it was ‘all up to me’ were the days I was my own biggest problem. Who knew?
Reading this TW got me to thinking that the thing we want most for those we love is to know that they are all right and doing well. The biggest thing people need from me is to know that I am all right, too. If I am neglecting my own responsibilities, I am increasing stress on all around me. I want people to feel rested when they are around me, or when they think of me. That is MY biggest responsibility to others. The bonus, of course, is that, when people look at my life, they can then see something that they want, which is the first item on the list when it comes to being able to witness. People have to see something that they want (security and happiness). My life has to be attractive first!
These days, I am trying to just chew the small, me-sized pieces of the elephant on my plate and let my Daddy chew the Daddy-sized ones. Meal is tastier. Less indigestion, too.
Laurita, Good to hear that you are “being” well, as well as “doing” well. You are a very important part of this community. I thank Yah daily for you and your contributions of wisdom and insight to Skip’s valued Daily Word.
PS elephants are NOT kosher!
Thanks, Carl.
“Climbing mountains together requires trust. Trust is something earned, usually through the small interactions. If I don’t trust you, I won’t climb the heights with you. So if we are going to reach the summit together, we will have to begin the journey by learning to trust each other.”
I really like your analogy and almost every point you are making is most excellent. I agree, “Climbing mountains together requires trust”. But trusting who? Sorry, but I’d say trusting YHWH, not each other. Maybe that was implied as a prerequisite in your statement, “…we will have to begin the journey by learning to trust each other”.
However, I’d rather say that more than trusting each other we need to be VULNERABLE with each other. THAT takes trusting YHWH, not each other! For you say, “Trust is something earned”. You’re right! And sorry, but shouldn’t it work both ways? Does that make me paranoid? Not necessarily, I think. For just as it is right to say, “How can I expect someone to walk with me if I do not walk even as He walked”, it is also right to say, “How can someone expect me to trust them if they do not walk even as He walked”. I would rather say, “…we will have to begin the journey by learning to trust YHWH, be VULNERABLE with other, LOVE (not “trust”) each other, AND by being TRUSTWORTHY toward each other”.
No, I don’t much like it when people don’t trust me, because I so often believe that at least my intentions are trustworthy, even if my actions are lacking, that I will eventually make good on my good intentions, once I know my actions are lacking, and I want to be given credit where credit is due. However, do I have the right to expect others to trust me just because of my good intentions? Probably not. So, I say, let the emphasis be on my trusting YHWH, on being VULNERABLE, on LOVING others, and on being TRUSTWORTHY toward others. Not on my trusting OTHERS.
Is it a stretch to support this with this verse, “Do not put your trust in princes—in man, in whom there is no salvation”? [Psa 146:3]
And maybe we can look to Messiah in his relationship with His disciples. Did He trust Peter when He said, “Get behind me, Satan”? And did He trust Judas Iscariot when He was betrayed with a kiss and called Him, “Friend”? I’d say not. I’d say He trusted our Heavenly Father, made Himself vulnerable to them, and He loved them, despite their not being trustworthy. It was by THIS that HE became TRUSTWORTHY. To the one He became not a stumbling block. To the other He did. That was both HIS choice AND theirs! And as we can expect in walking even as He walked, some will trust us…..and some will not. If it is that He expects us to trust others, would it not be according to the measure of their trustworthiness? Only let us watch out for this…..the small stones….and the great!
TRUST YHWH! BE VULNERABLE! LOVE OTHERS! BE TRUSTWORTHY!
“The one who loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.” [1Jn. 2:10]
Hi Jerry and Lisa,
I didn’t read Skip’s word today as an either/or… ie. if you trust people, you’re not trusting in God. They’re not mutually exclusive.
I think most of TW readers assume that “Trust in God,” is at the top of the list. But, God has given us relationships and community to help us navigate through life, and, developing “trust” between each other is crucial. I suspect it’s pleasing to God when we develop the kind of human level trust Skip refers to…not offensive.
Jerry and Lisa lovely connection with trust and vulnerability. Thanks
I completely agree with about the “small stuff.” I remember listening to Rabbi Mendel Kaplan teach from Exodus on Hashem’s instruction to “be holy as I am holy.” To sum up an hour and forty-five minute teaching, the reason Hashem told Moshe to gather all (kol) of Israel is because true holiness is in the details. True holiness is in the “nitty gritty;” in the small stuff.
As an avid college sports fan, this makes perfect sense to me. My favorite coach is Nick Saban and his “process” is very similar to this concept. The culture that he has created can be summed in these statements: don’t worry about the scoreboard or about winning or losing, instead, go out and do your job. Focus on executing your assignment, and only your assignment, 100% of the time. Win every play; win every day. If you do the small things 100%, 100% of the time, then the big things will sort themselves out.
If we could just grasp that concept in our daily lives, we could eliminate much of the stress we place upon ourselves. Don’t sweat the things beyond my control. But put every effort into what I absolutely can affect, and trust that my Abba will take care of the rest. It reminds me of Skip’s discussion on salvation from the Hebraic paradigm. If salvation is truly about being delivered from the power of sin, then am I walking in that deliverance right now?
Hello Keith and others,
Earned trust with other believers. A football squad sure learns to live in community and trust one another to execute come the day of the game. I think for believers, we all have our playbook and we measure how others are doing or will do if we team up. I find the local church today a very, very difficult place to let down my guard and trust. Jewish roots and the feasts are the furthest thing from most peoples’ minds, or so it seems. Do it “our way” or be excluded is the implication. Sorry, I find local Christianity to be pretty dry, gimmic oriented and frankly shallow and distasteful.
David R
Coming together is a beginning. Learning together a start. Working together progress and growing together is salvation… A way of living. We often choose to say this and that would be better done if… Yes if. I… Our arrogance makes us unapproachable our humbleness makes us part of the team. Thank you for the important reminder that in Him we live do and grow together by His grace.
I can see how true this is. Being an introvert, it is a lot for me to join a new group of people, to live most of the day with them, and do various activities together without knowing if I can trust them. What do I do? I tend to be silent at first. I listen to their conversations; I test the waters so to speak with a comment hear or there. I don’t want to offend anyone, yet I want to discern whether or not there is a wolf in the group. I begin to move in and out among them; I let them go first most of the time while sometimes keeping a trusted rear guard behind me. I talk one on one before talking to the larger group. If my time is limited with them, I’ve got to ramp up my participation so I don’t lose out on what could have been. I’ve got to work on those small stones too because I don’t want people to take me the wrong way. With God, things are different. He’s not a wolf. He’s my Abba. He knows my true heart; He does not misinterpret what I do or don’t do. Both the small and big things/stones are important to Him as they concern me. He knows how much I’m focusing on things, or being distracted by things. He knows I much I love or hate things. He helps me cross over from being an introvert to extrovert as required. He can use me for His purposes despite how others perceive me and despite my lack of skill or level of wisdom. He is completely trustworthy even when I stumble in the big and little things. He helps me deal with handling the fact that other people don’t do the small stones very well either.
Hi Beth,
The first half of your comment could well be written by me! Just as I know I am under observation, I will be observing them as well. LOL
Shalom and blessings.
Trust is something earned, so too with respect, usually through the small interactions of spending time together.
The more we get together, the more we get to know each other better through various situations, and events.
Familiarity breeds contempt whenever we guard not our tongues and attitudes, through arrogance and pride.
We will have to begin the journey by learning to discover if we can trust each other, if we care for each other, if we can rely upon each other in difficult times, all that in a process of walking in the transformed nature, in His ways, in discipline.
Being disciplined and naturally transformed spiritually to be the better person we so desire to be restored in His image then is our goal.
It all begins with the little things; if we can’t get those right, giving them the attention and responsibility needed, ABBA YHWH will not trust us with the bigger things. Period.
WE often watch over the bigger things to impress, but it’s the smaller things that truly reveal who we really are.
Shalom!