Mission Critical

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

SO MUCH TIME IN basic training in the military is devoted to disassembling a rifle, cleaning it, and putting it back together. It’s a monotonous task that feels like a punishment. It would be easy to skip some steps and do the job halfway. It could also be life-threatening. In a combat zone, you carry your weapon with you constantly, and no one is responsible for its well-being but you. You can’t depend on someone else to save you when your weapon jams because you were too lazy to clean it that morning.

Jesus’ teaching in Luke 16 highlights that the best proof of a man’s fitness for a bigger assignment is the way he fulfills a smaller assignment. On earth, we are in charge of things that are not really ours. We are only stewards of them. But the reward we will receive in heaven depends largely on how we use things on earth. Good stewardship now will be rewarded later.

In other words, if a man can’t properly handle worldly wealth, he can’t be trusted with the true riches of heaven. Integrity is when we obey in realms that are unenforceable—those areas that no one sees but God. Whom would you rather trust to save your life—the guy who cleaned his rifle thoroughly, or the guy who polished the outside of his rifle but never cleaned the inner parts? Faithfulness in the little things matters a great deal. It’s part of living with integrity.

BOTTOM LINE

Ask God to make you a man of clean parts on the inside as well as the outside.

Moment of Strength: Psalm 51:6-13