The Little Things Do Make a Difference

By Jessica Brodie

“There’s nothing much I can do. My little bit won’t make a difference.”

Have you ever said that? Maybe your finances were tight and you figured your five dollars wouldn’t make a dent in the collection plate at church. Maybe you kept feeling God urge you to volunteer with a ministry somehow, but your time was so compressed you figured the measly hour a week you did have wouldn’t even help. Maybe you knew a coworker was suffering or struggling, but you didn’t know her well and you figured there was nothing you could offer that no one else was doing.

But the little things do make a difference. And the Bible tells us this.

Many of us know the story of what Jesus said about the poor widow’s offering in Mark 12. He watched the crowd put offerings into the temple treasury, and he saw lots of wealthy people put in large amounts. A poor widow also made an offering—two tiny coins, worth just cents. The Bible tells us, “Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on’” (Mark 12:43-44 NIV).

Compared to everybody else, what the woman gave looked like a miniscule amount. But it’s about perspective. This woman was poor, and these coins were all she had, so her gift was huge to God. As the creator of both time and space, God uses a different “measuring scale” than the rest of us. And to God, her gift was actually worth more than the large sum of money offered by others. Perhaps for them, the sum barely put a dent in their pockets. But her sacrifice was huge in comparison.

This reminds me of the story of Cain and Abel from Genesis 4, the very first book in the Bible. Many of us know the story about how, after Adam and Eve disobeyed God and were kicked out of the Garden of Eden, they had two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain was a farmer and Abel was a shepherd, and when it came time to make sacrifices as an offering to the Lord, we’re told Cain brought some of his produce, while Abel brought fat from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Bible tells us God was pleased with Abel’s offering, but displeased with Cain’s. In jealousy, Cain killed his brother Abel.

I was always taught God was displeased with Cain’s offering because it was measly—small in comparison to Abel’s. But looking at the verse with fresh eyes, I wonder … maybe it didn’t look so small to Cain. Maybe “some of his produce” looked like a massive amount to Cain in comparison to the fat portions offered up by his brother. But appearances can be deceiving, and we all know quantity doesn’t always equal quality.

See, God knew what was really being offered. I think this story is a bit like the poor widow and the wealthy givers in Mark 12. God knew Cain was only giving a pittance in comparison to what he actually had (like the wealthy givers from Mark 12), but Abel was like the poor widow—his was a true sacrifice and, therefore, worth far more.

So how does this tie in with what we do for the Lord today?

Unlike in the Old Testament days, we know we don’t need to make sacrifices to God anymore as payment and repentance for sin and to get right with the Lord. Jesus’s sacrificial death on the cross established a new covenant between God and humanity. As Hebrews 10:10 says, “We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

And we also know God’s forgiveness and our salvation are gifts from God—extravagant and entirely free. There’s nothing we can possibly do to earn our forgiveness or earn our way into heaven.

But because we love God, and because we are followers of his son Jesus Christ, our savior, we want to make sacrifices… not in the form of fatted calves or firstborn lambs or stalks of wheat but through our time, our love for others, our service, our tithes and offerings, and our obedience to God and God’s commands.

It doesn’t matter what we give. It just matters that we give, and give abundantly. It matters that we don’t just live for ourselves, or give God our leftovers.

It matters that whatever it is we give, whether it is our time or money or anything else, it’s done with gusto and passion. Even if we don’t have a lot, God can use that tiny amount in miraculous ways.

Just like in Matthew 14:13-21 when the Lord used a boy’s five loaves and two fish to feed a crowd of 5,000, he can use in extraordinary ways what might seem to be wildly meager sacrifices and offerings.

So today, let’s step up and do what we can for the Lord, whatever that looks like—prayer, time serving others, listening to someone who is struggling, or money.

Even if it seems like a little thing, like you don’t think it makes a difference, trust. If it’s done with love in the name of the Lord, God will use it somehow, someway.

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