“Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!” (Matthew 23:24)

I had a good friend who years ago quoted scripture that did not exist.  But he made you think about it which, of course, was always the purpose for his comment.  When something went awry and in his mind it was no big deal, he would always say, “Hezekiah 2:4.” If you hadn’t heard my friend’s words of wisdom before, you would most likely ask the question, “Hezekiah 2:4 . . .  what’s that?” To which he would reply, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” Now the way my friend said it, you would leave the conversation convinced that Hezekiah was one of those lesser known books in The Bible, probably lost somewhere in the middle of the Old Testament.  Actually Hezekiah is mentioned in the Old Testament, and he is one of the kings named in the geneaology of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew.  What’s interesting is that years after I heard my friend’s expression for the first time, author Richard Carlson published his book, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff – and it’s all small stuff. 

If Carlson is correct, then why do we do so many things in our lives get blown out of proportion?  Those of us who are Christians should know better. Or maybe that’s indeed what our Faith Journey is all about; something we indeed need to work on.  In regards to Matthew 23:24 (above), Biblical commentator Matthew Henry states: “We are really what we are inwardly. Outward motives may keep the outside clean, while the inside is filthy; but if the heart and spirit be made new, there will be newness of life; here we must begin with ourselves.”  Jesus recognized the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and teachers of His day and denounced it by stating, “You give a tenth of your spices–mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law–justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former” (Matthew 23:23)

At the home of Mary and Martha, Jesus imparts that it’s more about the relationship than the ritual.  ^“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.  She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”  “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42).  I don’t know about you, but I can almost hear Jesus saying, “Martha, don’t sweat the small stuff.”

So, back to our Journey. Our work, our homes, our churches and communities are all filled with efforts that sometimes become concentrated on ‘making a mountain out of a molehill’  and not lifting up those things of significance. Our society has become cluttered with reaction by the cynics and complainers over almost every phase of our life.  One of the worse culprits in the entertainment world is the obsession with so-called reality TV programming.  Talk about an exaggerated performance over a little bit of nothing. One must question if it might be refreshing to see a reality show about a Christian family living in harmony where no one makes a big deal out of anything. It would offer few if any displays of drama for the camera. Of course, no one would watch; the ratings would not be positive.  But it might have a meaningful influence on the characters that got to live out their real life roles. We might call it “The Real Christians of Anywhere, U.S.A.” Now there’s a show that might be worth watching.

REFLECTION:  Do you make mountains out of molehills in your own life? What are some things that you grumble about that are illustrations of ‘small stuff’?  How might our real life practice change so that we would come to focus on those things that truly honor God?

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