THE SMALL THINGS

“All the small things.” — Blink 182

In the 1990s, a prominent New York NBA player complained that the players in the league couldn’t feed their families on the average NBA salary, which was $ 1 million a year in 1991. He couldn’t feed his family on six zeros? Was his family a small nation?

Not every player retires broke after making millions of dollars a year in endorsements and salary. But somehow, many do. Anyone think these guys should handle the federal budget?

The harsh reality looms: no one ever taught them how to handle $10. How do we expect them to manage $1,000,000.

We have to teach our kids and ourselves how to handle a little. Learning to do so will teach us to handle more, or even much.

Social scientists say that if a man appears neat (i.e. tucked in shirt, lack of wrinkles, nice slacks and clean shoes) on a first date, the woman tends to think he will manage his life well. If he can take care of his appearance, he can probably take care of his house, his finances and his marriage.

A famous story tells of Henry Ford’s interviewing a young man to work for Ford Motor Company. The two go to a restaurant and order. When the entrees arrive, the young man begins to salt and pepper his dish. Ford then tells him that the interview is over; he can’t hire people who make decisions about food without first tasting it. How could this man be trusted to make decisions about the nation’s largest auto manufacturer if he couldn’t make informed decisions with food?

To ever be faithful, to ever handle appropriately great quantities of anything, we must first prove ourselves capable of handling a few. We prefer governors to senators for the oval office because governors have governed a state; senators have not. We prefer coordinators to position coaches for head coaching jobs; they’ve managed an offense or defense.

Jesus makes this point bluntly. He instructs us to learn to manage our time, our gifts, our relationships, our money, etc.

How have we administered them?

Are these parables paeans to capitalism, or something more?
With what have you been entrusted to manage?
Are you being faithful with right now? How?

Adam