May 11, 2026

Business by the Book

Luke 16:10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 

As said Jesus, it is so. If a person can be trusted with a small job, they can be trusted with a large job. If they can be trusted to tell the truth in little things, they will tell the truth in big things. If they are faithful to the detail oriented tasks, they can be trusted in the large overview type of tasks.

Jeremiah asked the question, If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses?... (Jeremiah 12:5) Meaning, if the rudimentary is a problem, how will the advanced be handled? This is what is so important about being a good follower. By following someone who is skilled in battle one can learn how the battle is won. The same basic strategies and maneuvers employed in fighting with the footmen are usually effective with the horse soldiers; they are just in a much more advanced state.

In my late teens I worked for a nationwide delivery company. At the age of 18 I was promoted to the position of part time supervisor. One of my responsibilities was training all the new employees. According to our workplace rules we had thirty days to evaluate newly hired personnel. By the time that the thirty day trial was over I was to make the decision to keep an employee or let them go. On the thirty first day they were almost guaranteed lifetime employment. If I let a person make “seniority” as we called it and they turned out to be a bad employee I was responsible.

So, I tested them. I would time them, throw problems in their way, ask them to do unreasonable things, evaluate their work stations after they clocked out, I would even go as far as plant a partially opened package to see if they would steal its contents. This was my job; I was to evaluate them in the basics of our job. I could usually tell within two weeks if they would reach seniority. Additionally, I could always pick out the ones who would one day be in management. It was relatively easy; it was a matter of their work ethic, honesty, attention to detail, and the way they responded to challenges and supervisor directives.

This thing of being faithful in small matters as a precursor to doing greater things is perhaps what King David meant when he invited the Lord to Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. (Psalm 26:2)  Or what Nehemiah meant when he said …Remember me, O my God, for good. (Nehemiah 13:31) Or the warning Moses gave in Deuteronomy 23:14. …that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee. Just a thought, what do you think?

Dr. William Howe