“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin”
– Zechariah 4:10a (NLT)“Wealth gained hastily will dwindle,
but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.”
– Proverbs 13:11The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and starting on the first one.
– Mark Twain
Our world is obsessed with bigger, faster, and better. If some is good, more is better. All of it, now. We want the before and the after without the in between and, as is so often the case, the church has bought into much of the world’s mindset. Churches start big, buying million-dollar buildings “in faith.” Even in the more missionally-oriented Christian circles where small is seen as powerful, much of the talk is about starting disciple-making movements, dreaming gloriously of networks of dozens or hundreds of disciple-making communities, but yet rarely putting thought into the space between here and now and there and then.
The same is true on a personal level. We want big change quick. We want to lose that extra weight now. We want to shed the $20,000 in school debt tomorrow. We want God to step in a miraculously, instantly free us from anxiety, addiction, and sin. When we talk about transformation we default to thinking of some sort of magical, lightning-strike-quick change.
Real transformation starts small
The reality is that all lasting transformation starts small, with miniscule choices and moment-by-moment shifts of action. Want to lose weight or get out of debt? Want to see a disciple-making movement explode and transform your city? Read through the literature and across the board you’ll see the recurring theme: transformation start small. The truth of Proverbs 13:11, quoted above, applies to far more than financial wealth.
Jesus sets the tone for us, starting his life as an infant and building through decades of embedded living before taking a small group of followers and leading them into the Kingdom of God, then leaving and sending the Holy Spirit to work in and through them for millenia to reach the world.
He could have chosen to step into reality as a fully mature man, summoned up a crowd, and declared God was back to fix things in a flash. Instead he chose to start small, declaring that the Kingdom of God was a mustard seed that would slowly grow to become the largest plant in the garden.
Small starts now
Part of the reason small is so incredibly powerful is that anyone can make a small change now. Big goals generally get put off until tomorrow when there’s more time or you’re less tired. Small, tangible actions that can be implemented now actually get accomplished.
Want to live missionally in your neighborhood? Instead of getting overwhelmed at the size of the task, commit to taking the small action of spending 10 minutes working in your yard each day, available and watching for opportunities to talk with someone.
Dave Ramsey’s popular “snowball method” for dealing with debt also affirms the idea that lasting change starts small. Start with your smallest debt and pay it off. Then move on to the next biggest, so on and so forth until you’re debt free. Starting small enables you to start now.
Small lasts
Whereas throwing yourself suddenly into a no-sugar diet will (most likely) end with you feeling cranky, lightheaded, and giving up four days in feeling like a failure, small incremental changes made to your life can have massive and lasting effects.
Many Christians feel like they need to dive face-first into spending half hour a day reading scripture and praying. Not a bad thing, but more often than not that lasts for a couple days then fades out. Better to start small and build habits that last. Commit to a week long reading plan on YouVersion and let the feeling of accomplishment once finished launch you into a second week, then a third.
Small is powerful
Because small lasts and builds over time, small is powerful. While small things may take time have noticeable impact, once it’s present it’s nearly impossible to stop. From ebola viruses to the Christian faith, small is powerful.
If you’re like me you have a dozen things in your life and the lives of those around you that you’d like to see changed. When you step back and look at the big picture it’s probably overwhelming and tempting to just sit back, turn on the TV and watch Netflix. Don’t give in. Instead, focus. Start small. Pick one thing that you can do and press into that.
My bet is that down the road you’ll look back and be amazed and how far you’ve come. As Tolkien wrote, “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
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