DO Sweat the Small Stuff!

The Apostle Paul, in saying, “If a man will not work, he shall not eat,â€? is telling us that everyone has a job to do.  Take, for example, putting together a Sunday worship service. Other than a preacher, we have musicians, ushers, custodians, a bell-ringer, communion stewards, and other people who help make each Sunday service happen.

 

If you only look at the big picture, it may not seem like it would be that much of a problem if one or two of the parts of that group were missing. But, if we paid attention, we would notice that things didn’t work as well as they should.

 

That’s the point of saying, “DO sweat the small stuff.â€? We’ve been told for a long time that we can reduce our stress levels by not worrying about the little stuff, just worry about the big problems. But is that really the best solution?  Well, it might be for some things, but for life in general, maybe not.

 

Here’s an example of why this is true. Researchers in the field of crime and urban decay have discovered something interesting: In a neighborhood, if a single broken window is allowed to remain unrepaired, it will slowly lead to a complete breakdown of the neighborhood.

 

If you think that’s ridiculous, you should read a book by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani called, Leadership. He applied the “Broken Window Theory,� as it’s called, to crime in the city, and in the process, reduced murders from around 2,000 a year to under 600.

 

The first thing he did was deal with the “squeegee guys,â€? those people who would run out to your car while you were stopped, and wash your windshield (with dirty water) and then demand payment. Once Mayor Giuliani started having these guys arrested, he discovered that a lot of them were convicted felons.  When he started cracking down on people jumping turnstiles in the subways, he found that he was also arresting a goodly number of drug pushers.

 

The point is, working on the little stuff WILL lead to big results, whether it’s your town or your spiritual life that you’re working on.

 

This is the Apostle Paul’s focus. He doesn’t spend a lot of time preaching on the big-ticket items of the faith – believing in God, or trusting Christ, or reaching others with the gospel. What he does focus in on is how the Thessalonians should attack the little stuff that is eating away at their foundations – the broken windows of the Christian community.

 

In verse 6, Paul says that we are to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received.

 

There are two ways that we can take Paul’s words about being ‘idle.’ One way to see this is that he’s talking about lazy people who don’t do anything. The other is that we should be concerned about people who waste time by being unproductive.  They may be busy… but they’re not getting anything done.  Either way, this is a ‘broken window’ that has to be dealt with. Grandma used to say that ‘idle hands are the devil’s workshop…’ Well, so are misdirected hands!

 

What’s the difference between being idle, and being busy but unproductive? There is none!

 

Having a full schedule is not a sin. Keeping up with the busy lives of your children, doing your job, and being involved in your community are good things. But, each one of us has some decisions to make somewhere in our lives that are very important. If you don’t choose to fix your broken windows – that is, if you won’t fix the areas in your live where you’re not productive – the quality of your life and spiritual health is going to go flat in no time.

 

How might you know what the symptoms are? What about the relationships in your life?  Are they as good and healthy as they could be?  What about how you use your time?  Do you make room for things that nourish your soul, your family, and your community – and your church?

 

A good way to consider the issue is to think about the things in your life that you never seem to get around to doing.  If you’re not coming up with answers, find someone who knows you well who will lovingly tell you the truth.  Often times, others can see our broken windows better than we can.

If you sweat the small stuff, you’ll find that you don’t run into as many of the big problems.  If you take the time to fix the little stuff, you are doing as Paul teaches, to “not be weary in doing what is right.â€?

 

Don’t ignore the small stuff! You could end up like the cow that got lost grazing. The cow eats a little patch of grass, then looks for another one. She locates one just a little ways away, and moves over to it. She eats that one, and then another, and then another – never realizing that she’s eaten her way through the hole in the fence, across the road, and into the next pasture. A big problem came into being, one small bite at a time.

 

The more attention you pay to the little stuff, the less likely you are to get out of control without realizing you’re doing it.

 

We are the most useful to God when we are in control… and our bodies are a well-maintained temple for the Holy Spirit to live in.

 

Take a look at your life. Find out what needs to be fixed, what needs to be cleaned – and take the steps you need to take so that what is damaged within you can be healed.

 

God wants us all to be solid and strong.  When we will confess our brokenness to God, he WILL restore us through the gift of forgiveness!

 

Sources Consulted:

“The Broken Window Theory,� Homiletics, November 2004.

Holmes, Michael W. 1 & 2 Thessalonians (Zondervan, 1998)