Not many today remember the Dreyfus Affair, a political scandal which deeply divided France from 1894 until its resolution in 1906 [1]. Put simply, it started with a false accusation of treason against a French solider of Jewish descent by the name of Alfred Dreyfus, who was wrongly convicted of this alleged crime, imprisoned for five years, and eventually exonerated [2]. It is noted by legal scholars as one of the worst cases of modern injustice [3].
The French poet Charles Peguy, describing the impact of this case on his country, observed:
One single injustice, one single crime, one single illegality, if officially confirmed, one single hurt done to law and justice, above all if legally, nationally, generally accepted, one single crime breaks, and suffices to tear, the whole social fabric, to dishonor a whole people [##4|Charles Peguy, quoted by Dominic Snadbrook, Eugene McCarthy: The Rise and Fall of Postwar American Liberalism (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004), p. 148.##].
It doesn’t take a host of wrongs to tarnish a nation’s reputation, nor to defile a person’s character. And in no realm is this so true as the spiritual
“One Sinful Desire Cherished”
Regarding our relationship with God, the Bible says the same thing:
Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10).
Ellen White agrees:
Even one wrong trait of character, one sinful desire cherished, will eventually neutralize all the power of the gospel [##5|Ellen G. White, Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 53.##].
A common criticism of the doctrinal beliefs and lifestyle standards of the Seventh-day Adventist Church has been the alleged focus on what many assume to be unimportant. The trade line, “majoring in minors,” is one we hear a lot. Never mind the simple reality that most major problems in the widely varied circumstances of human living tend to originate as minor ones.
And if they are confronted while minor, most would agree they have a better chance of being headed off than if one waits to confront them once they become major.
Cancer is a good example. How often do we hear the phrase “early detection”? What about problems in our personal relationships? Problems in a marriage? In a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship? In the workplace? Most would agree how much better it is to deal with such challenges when they are small, rather than waiting till they get big.
But how many of us apply this principle to problems in our spiritual life?
Years ago, former U.S. Senator Tom Harkin asked an audience how much better our physical health would be if we only treated our bodies with the same attentiveness with which we treat our cars! The same could likely be said of those who seem to think minor issues don’t matter in spiritual affairs, yet who wouldn’t likely apply the same neglect to other areas of their lives.
Small Enough to Defend
Jesus made it clear: “He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much” (Luke 16:10). Just as most would agree that attention to problems while they are small is best in temporal matters, the Bible makes it clear—in these words of our Lord Himself—that if we are faithful in little things we prepare ourselves to be faithful in larger ones.
The example of Daniel and his companions in the Old Testament illustrates this point well. Chapter 1 of the book that bears his name tells the story of how the first test these young men faced was one that most would describe as comparatively small. But Daniel’s determination to be true to God in the matter at hand is spelled out in the following verse:
Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank (Dan. 1:8).
Here was a situation where Daniel and his companions could easily have rationalized. After all, they might have said, these Mesopotamian monarchs are known to skin their captives alive, and here this one invites us to eat at his table! They might have asked, in language we hear so often today: “Is this really a hill we want to die on?”
But this first, relatively small test of faith, was what prepared the way for Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to endure the far greater tests we read about as their story unfolds. Because Daniel and his friends were faithful in a small matter, they were able by God’s grace to be faithful in larger ones.
Many who confront particular issues in the church today find it easy to write them off as “minor.” Usually this characterization is reserved for those issues deemed by the majority as uncomfortable and unpopular. Issues of diet, bodily ornamentation, worship styles, the question of who is qualified to be ordained to the gospel ministry, and other controversies frequently fall under this allegedly “minor” designation. Such persons often say, when conflict arises over such questions: “I’ll wait till a bigger issue comes along, then I’ll take a stand.”
Unfortunately there never will be a bigger issue. The devil will make sure every step of compromise is small enough to defend. It’s like the old story about boiling a frog alive—just a little at a time. The inspired pen says this is exactly what brought about the apostasy of the wisest of kings:
So gradual was Solomon’s apostasy that before he was aware of it, he had wandered far from God. Almost imperceptibly he began to trust less and less in divine guidance and blessing, and to put confidence in his own strength [##6|——Prophets and Kings, p. 55.##].
We can be sure Solomon’s compromises at each level were perceived by him to be small enough to not take seriously. In the context of the above statement Ellen White speaks of Solomon’s marriage to his first heathen wife, the Egyptian princess, and how—despite her conversion to the worship of the true God—this was still a terrible sin on the king’s part [##7|——Prophets and Kings, pp. 53-54.##], one which likely convinced him that he could marry and convert many more! As things turned out, a great deal of converting did happen—but all in the opposite direction.
Many years ago I watched a television program on deadly African snakes, one of which was the green mamba, which lives most of its life in trees. The program filmed one of these snakes stalking a bird, just a little at a time. Watching the show, I couldn’t help thinking of Satan’s favored tactic of creeping compromise, how he stalks his victims gradually until he assumes a successful attack posture, then closes in for the kill.
Conclusion
There are those who see the Sabbath as a minor issue. They ask, Does God really care what day we worship Him on? Maybe Adam and Eve asked if God considered what tree they ate from to be all that important. Perhaps Lot’s wife assumed it really didn’t matter whether or not she cast a backward glance at her erstwhile home. Maybe Samson wondered if God really cared whether or not his hair got cut. When General Naaman went to the prophet Elisha to be healed of leprosy, he asked aloud why he couldn’t wash in one of the rivers of his native Damascus rather than the muddy waters of Jordan (II Kings 5:12).
But when God gives a sign of loyalty, when He prescribes an act of obedience, it is imperative that we act accordingly. Whether or not it appears small to us makes no difference to God. As we saw from the words of the apostle James, the violation of but one point in God’s law is sufficient to make us guilty of violating it all (James 2:10).
All it takes is one leak to sink a ship. All it takes is one little bit of cancer, untreated, to kill its victim. One little problem in a marriage, ignored and unattended, can bring divorce. One sin was all it took to get our first parents expelled from Eden. And one sin, unconfessed and unforsaken, is sufficient to keep any of us from inhabiting a restored Eden.
Now is our time of test. As with Daniel and his friends, faithfulness in small matters will prepare us for larger and more decisive issues of faithfulness. And if by God’s grace we endure the small tests now, we will more likely endure the larger ones later.
REFERENCES
1. “Dreyfus Affair,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreyfus_affair
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Charles Peguy, quoted by Dominic Sandbrook, Eugene McCarthy: The Rise and Fall of Postwar American Liberalism (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004), p. 148.
5. Ellen G. White, Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 53.
6. ----Prophets and Kings, p. 55.
7. Ibid, pp. 53-54.
Pastor Kevin Paulson holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Pacific Union College, a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Loma Linda University, and a Master of Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He served the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for ten years as a Bible instructor, evangelist, and local pastor. He writes regularly for Liberty magazine and does script writing for various evangelistic ministries within the denomination. He continues to hold evangelistic and revival meetings throughout the North American Division and beyond, and is a sought-after seminar speaker relative to current issues in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He presently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan