Neglecting Little Things (Part I)

By Odon Bulamba (22 November 2002)

It’s a joy to meet together in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today the world joins together around a glass of whiskey or food to talk about politics. But for the love of our God who is so great, we meet together with different backgrounds so that we can be a family. A family that doesn’t have biological blood but a family united in the Spirit of God and in our Lord. We are pure children and are the race of God, a race that is different from any other on earth. A race that doesn’t look at the colour of your skin, but a race that looks at the colour of your soul, and blessed are those who are selected to be called children of God.

Yesterday I gave $4 to Angela but because she had $1000 in her purse she told me to keep it. What did she do? Was she willing to accept my $4? Did she neglect my $4? Was she merciful because it was all I had? When we have a great knowledge we sometimes forget the little things, and when we are rich in some areas we neglect in other areas.

In Kenya I started speaking other languages and sometimes mixed it with my mother tongue. If you didn’t speak English in Kenya you were regarded as an uneducated person, and those who are regarded as uneducated were neglected. But in our God, who is alive, we are not to neglect anything because God’s measure starts with little things. God will never measure something big if He hasn’t measured something small.

2 Chronicles 29:11 11 My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense.

You were chosen by the Lord, brothers and sisters, so don’t be neglectful. God has chosen you among many others, I don’t know why, but once you are chosen you become God’s friend. There is one warning and that is not to be negligent. When people look for jobs they write letters etc, but once they get the job they start neglecting it 3 months down the track, and when this happens someone else replaces them.

There is nothing worse in life than negligence because it always has negative consequences, and when we neglect something it means that we don’t take care of it. On earth many Christians are neglectful, they neglect their salvation, they neglect the lives of other Christians and they neglect the work of the cross. So what will God say? If you neglect your salvation who will take care of it? If you neglect yourself, how can you take care of others?

When God created us He used mud. Every minute God takes care of us, He protects us from dangers, He gives us the breath of life and He protects us from demonic attacks. God sees what will happen later so He prepares us for that holy place. How many times have you thought about your life since you were born? If you calculated how much money you have spent since being born a large figure will appear.

One day I woke up and looked at my sister and she was ugly. Saliva dripped down her mouth and you could see dirt around her eyes, not to mention her stink breath. After 2 hours in the bathroom she was transformed. She didn’t neglect anything on her body and when she left home all the men looked at her. But one day when she left home the rain fell, and because she was walking she used her bag to cover her head, so why do you think women cover their heads? To protect their hair, but when it comes to praying they never cover their hair.

She struggled to keep her make up on her face because of the rain. This is a good example for Christians. When we look after our bodies we don’t neglect anything and sometimes we compare it with others. If you see someone with nice shoes for example, you will do everything in your power to have that same look and whether it will cost a lot of money or not, you will get it. But when it comes to spiritual things (and we know that God keeps on loving us and encourages us to take care of our souls) we are the first ones to neglect it.

Hebrews 2:3 how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation.

How can we escape? As human beings we forget that after this life there is a judgment and that our life on earth is very short. After this life there is death and if you are not on death’s side you will be on life’s side, so how many times do we prepare ourselves for the last judgment? Do we find time to think about it or do we neglect it? Do we doubt what God says in His word will happen? Do we think this earth belongs to us?

Christians who love the Lord must always think about judgment and are not allowed to neglect it. Prepare yourself because you cannot escape it. As Christians today we neglect our salvation and forget about what Jesus did on the cross and what He went through for our sins. Who among us will accept to be nailed to a cross? Who among us could wear a crown of thorns on his head? What man can sacrifice his life for someone else, to the point of death?

We neglect salvation and live our everyday lives, and in our everyday lives we do things as if we didn’t know Jesus. Jesus is watching, so do you take care of your salvation or do you take care of your body and neglect your salvation? You were born alone and you will die alone, and all you will take is your salvation. Your salvation is the foundation for your eternal life; you will never take your parents with you. So think about the deeds you do on earth to see whether or not they qualify in the heavens.

Nobody can stop death and say I want to go with my husband or wife. When someone dies in Africa they bury him or her, then the husband or wife scatters dirt over the coffin, and after this they cry. Salvation is not something that we leave buried in our lives. Remember that when your dad dies you will see him again because tomorrow it could be your turn, so do not neglect your salvation because of one man or the clothes you wear.

How many people have killed others just to have money? Why are there problems between mankind? Why don’t we think about the cross? How are we going to take care of our salvation if forgiveness doesn’t exist in our lives? How can we take care of our salvation if there is no love? How can we take care of our salvation if we don’t respect the word of God? Do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Do you think your make it with the life you are living today?

Today you are breathing but for God 1 second is enough to take your breath away, and then what will you tell God about your salvation? When God asks you what did you do on earth for the 30 – 40 years He gave you, how will you respond? God I neglected my salvation because I was taking care of my studies. God will tell you that grace is finished, and if there is no grace, judgment is for you.

There is no escaping when you neglect your salvation. The reason why the church of God is humiliated today is because of our behavior. We neglect servants of God, the word of God, our neighbors, colleagues and we think we are the best. But for God whoever is the least is the greatest and whoever wants to be high will be put down. If you strive to have money and poor people aren’t your friends, God will confuse you. Spiritually, God will tell you that you are very poor.