Day 105, or April 15. Little things mean a lot. Our thoughts today come from 1 Chronicles
chapter 9 verse 28. Some of them were in charge of the articles used in the temple service.
They counted them when they were brought in and when they were taken out.
First the big picture surrounding this verse. The ancient chronicler gives a lot of detail
about the genealogies of the Levites and priests, who returned from exile to help re-establish
the children of Israel in the promised land. There were lots of menial humdrum tasks to
be done if the temple was to glorify the living God, as it was always meant to. The sobering
thought here is that unless they could prove they were from the tribe of Levi, they lost
their vocation forever. That's how important the genealogies were.
And now our action step for today. There is a fallacy in the world that only people who
have a public influence matter. The backroom staff, pen-pushers and paper-shufflers are
of little consequence. It seems God doesn't see it that way. When the first book of Chronicles
is describing the tasks for the returning Levites, it is amazing how seemingly unimportant
some of their jobs appear. Counting things and looking after furniture and baking bread!
Can I hear you yawning as you listen to this? I believe the credit on a human level for
much of any thriving ministry should be attributed to the invisible organization behind the public
persona. I've heard some leaders say that they are happy to exercise their public ministry,
but they don't do administration. It's not their gift. They lean on the teaching of Paul
to the church in Corinth, when he emphasized how important all the gifts are and how we
are the body of Christ. They lean on it to breaking point. Whatever your ministry is,
be sure you don't use laziness or pride as excuses to be sloppy with the boring bits.
Why not ring or text someone today to express your appreciation for all they do that is
unseen?