A certain businessman was well known for his cruelty and ruthlessness. While talking to Mark Twain about a goal he wanted to accomplish before dying, he explained, “Before I die, I am going to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I will climb Mount Sinai and read the 10 Commandments aloud at the top.” Mark Twain said in return, “I have a better idea, you could stay in Boston and keep them.”
Many people in this world, intentionally or unintentionally, live by the saying, “Go big or go home.” They make grand and elaborate plans while usually ignoring the smaller tasks. This was the businessman’s mindset for his spiritual life. He wanted to do something “big” to make up for all the smaller ways he had failed. He was trying to make up some spiritual ground.
Sometimes we can fall into the same trap. We drive ourselves to do “big things” for God while missing out on everyday faithfulness. We plan extensive mission trips, conduct major lectureships, youth rallies, camps, and spend weeks at a time for intense spiritual training and growth. Don’t get me wrong, every single one of these items is fantastic and needed. However, they shouldn’t come at the striking neglect of the everyday items like praying, studying the Bible, being kind, reaching the lost, surrounding ourselves with good influences, and resisting sin.
As the popular Scripture Hebrews 12:1 states, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
The “go big” mentality is one of a sprinter. We go as hard and fast as we can, but only for a short time. It’s not sustainable. Endurance takes pacing, patience, planning, and consistency. That’s the spiritual race we’re running.
Our spiritual race is a serious challenge of our endurance. It’s great to have times where we pick up the pace and “go big,” but let’s also remember to keep up with the “little things.” Every little step brings us that much closer to the goal. Keep at it!
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