10/22/2024
“Faithful with The Little”
“He who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little thing is also dishonest in much.” Luke 16:10
According to Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary, the word faithful, when used to describe Christians, means “full of faith, trustful, and not simply trustworthy.” The word is used also to describe the Word of God or covenant as true and to be trusted.
The Greek word translated “faithful” in the Bible is pistos; it means trusty and faithful. It also means being easily persuaded; believing, confiding and trusting.
When pistos is used to mean trusty or faithful, Thayer’s Greek Lexicon says the word (pistos) is “used of persons who show themselves faithful in the transaction of business, the ex*****on of commands, or the discharge of official duties.”
God is faithful. His word is also faithful. In other words, God and His Word are true and can be trusted. God expects His children to be faithful – to be trusty. According to a dictionary, the word trusty is “used for describing a person or thing that you have known or had for a long time and can depend on.”
God wants you to be faithful, but more importantly, He wants you to be faithful in little things. “He that is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much: and he that is unrighteous in a very little is unrighteous also in much” (Luke 16:10 American Standard Version).
Some people feel that little things don’t matter. That is not correct when it comes to walking with God. You can’t say some sins are small; therefore, they don’t matter. No sin is too small not to take anyone to hell! God is concerned about the small details as much as He is concerned about the big details. What you may think doesn’t matter to God, matters to Him.
Your desire to be faithful in what is much or big will be a fantasy unless you are first faithful or trusty in little things. If you’re unfaithful in little things, you’ll be unfaithful in the big things. The New King James Version puts it thus in Luke 16:10: “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.”
Jesus made this statement after He had told the parable of the unjust or shrewd steward, who was fired by his employer and asked to give an account of his stewardship, but the steward invited his master’s debtors and reduced their debts so that after he had lost his job they might receive him into their homes (Luke 16:1-8).
In his teaching on the behaviour of this unjust steward, Jesus said, “Whoever can be trusted with a little can also be trusted with a lot, and whoever is dishonest with a little is dishonest with a lot” (Luke 16:10 New Century Version).
How faithful are you with the little – money, power, responsibilities, etc. – that has been committed to your hands? Are you wasting, abusing, or misusing the little things given to you? That little thing is a test. Your faithfulness with the ‘little thing’ in your hands or possession will determine whether you’re qualified for more or much. Unfaithfulness in little will disqualify you.
In Matthew 24:45-51, Jesus says, “Who is a faithful, sensible servant, to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his household and feeding his family? If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. I assure you, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. But if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ and begins oppressing the other servants, partying, and getting drunk well, the master will return unannounced and unexpected. He will tear the servant apart and banish him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (New Living Translation).
What the master of that servant gave him could be considered as little power. He could be faithful in using it or not. That would determine whether he could be trusted with more power. Unfortunately, many have failed when tested with little power, little money, little opportunity, and so on.
English historian, John Emerich Edward, popularly called Lord Acton, in his letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887, said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Writer and orator, Robert Ingersoll, in a statement credited to him, but which a variation of it is often attributed to Abraham Lincoln, said, “If you want to find out what a man is to the bottom, give him power. Any man can stand adversity – only a great man can stand prosperity.”
How many people have failed the test of little power or little prosperity? Because they failed in little things, they couldn’t be given much. Don’t be unfaithful in little things where you are now in life; handle them faithfully. Your success in handling them today will determine your future.
In Matthew 25:20-23, the two servants, who were given five and two talents by their master before he travelled to a far country, passed their test. They traded with their talents and earned five and two talents. After giving account to their master, upon his return, he commended them, saying that they had been faithful over a few things and he would make them rulers over many things. He told them to enter into the joy of their lord.
On the other hand, the master ordered that the wicked, lazy and unprofitable servant be cast into the outer darkness where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30). This servant was not faithful in the one talent he was given. Instead of trading with it, he went to hide it in the ground and insulted his master that he was a hard man, reaping where you had not sown, and gathering where he had not scattered seed (verses 24-25). Look at that description closely. It seems to me that he was calling his master a thief!
He also claimed to be afraid, so he went to hide his talent. Afraid of what? It could only be that he was afraid of the negative image of his boss he had painted. Why were the other servants not afraid, but went to trade with their own talents? What qualified them to rule over many things was their faithfulness in few things.
You’ll find a similar emphasis on faithfulness in little things in Luke 19, where two faithful servants earned ten minas and five minas with the one mina their master had given each of them to trade with. “And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’ Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities’” (Luke 19:17-19 New King James Version).
In this parable, there was also one unfaithful servant. He was unfaithful in little things. He went to keep his one mina in a handkerchief somewhere and earned nothing. Whereas the other two servants were promoted, his one talent was collected from him and given to the servant who had ten minas. This unfaithful servant could continue to dream about promotion, enlargement, prosperity, etc. but he would remain a stranger to them. Unfaithfulness in little things!
Beware of how you handle little things given to you. Little things always matter in your walk with God. Hear what Jesus said about the little ones: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6 New King James Version). Did you see that? Little ones!
Don’t be unfaithful with little money, little opportunity, little time, little power, etc. Be faithful. If you’re faithful in very little, God believes you’ll be faithful also in much. He also believes that if you’re unrighteous in a very little, you will be unrighteous also in much. Many people believe that too.
If you’re going to enjoy promotion, increase, enlargement, favour, and other good things from God, be faithful in little things. May the Lord find you faithful.
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