Faithful in a Very Little Thing

“He who is faithful in a very little thing (the least) is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.” Luke 16:10

The context of this verse is set in the midst of Jesus teaching His disciples how to be faithful in the least. The least He is referring to here is worldly wealth as compared to the much, which is the true riches of the kingdom of heaven. The Lord needs to see that we are faithful and obedient to His word in regards to the administration of our worldly wealth before He is able to entrust to us the administration of the wealth of His gifts and resources that belong to the kingdom of God. We need to prove ourselves faithful to His word in what we can see before he gives to us that which we can’t yet see. Learning to be faithful in the least is a godly principle that we are to always live by. We don’t ever graduate from this. For instance we are never to graduate beyond being a love-slave of the Lord. As a slave we understand all things belong to the Master and we are to faithfully administer what He has placed into our hands. If we are faithful with the mina, the least, then the Master of the house can give us an even greater resource to steward; the talent. (Luke 19:12-27; Matt 25:13-30) The area of the least is also a proving ground in which God tests us. Before David could become a king over God’s people he needed to first prove himself as a shepherd of his father’s flock. In regards to this, he was learning to be faithful in that which was another’s. David loved the flock of sheep that was entrusted into his hands; he was prepared to lay down his life to protect them. Apart from your worldly wealth, what else is ‘a very little thing’ that God has given you to do and be faithful in? It could be an ongoing task that you have been asked to do that helps in the overall care of the body of Christ. It could be to regularly visit or to prepare a meal for someone. (Matt 25:34-40) Whatever it is, God’s word exhorts us not to despise the day of small things. (Zech 4:10) Because David was faithful in his service towards that small flock of sheep, God then entrusted to him the capacity to preside over ‘the much’, the kingdom of His people. (2Sam7:8)