Do Small Things by Tim Sweetman
Tim Sweetman (aka, “Agent Tim”) was an inspiration to Alex and me as we started blogging three years ago and has been a constant encouragement ever since. In his latest article, published by Regenerated Magazine, Tim both exhorts and encourages us to boast only in the cross of Jesus Christ — giving everything to God, no matter the size, insignificance, or cost. It is a critical and timely challenge.
I think we’ve all done it. We’re sitting at some conference and we’re not thinking about one word that is being spoken or sung. Instead, we’re wrapped up in being that person on stage. Oh, if only I were him. If only I were her. That would be so awesome. So … cool.
And then we decide to throw in the spiritual application just to make it sound better. What a great opportunity to serve the Lord! Yeah, right.
Many young Christians long for Christian “stardom,” desiring to do “big things” for God, and are often in sin when pride is the catalyst for their desire to be on that stage, literal or figurative.
I am continually discouraged by doing my “small things.“ I am constantly wishing that I was an intern for a Supreme Court Justice or traveling around the country on a speaking tour.
Sometimes in my pride I believe that I would give anything to struggle through the hard thing of getting a book published. In my mind, that’s a “big hard thing.” All my “small hard things” – well, they’re just that – small.
Finish the article and leave Tim feedback over at RegeneratedMag.com. For further reading on this topic we’d recommend our article, Understanding Small Hard Things.
Excerpt, Understanding Small Hard Things: “The point, however, is not to seek recognition or obscurity, but rather to seek the glory of God. A heart that longs for the praise of men more than the praise of God — whether prideful in receiving it or resentful in lacking it — does not honor God.”
July 16th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Thanks for the excerpt! I heading over there right now to read the rest! Thanks.
July 16th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Thanks for putting this up! This is what young people need to hear today!
July 16th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
oh fine, I’ll stop trying to be you
July 16th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Doofey: I’m not sure if you are trying to be serious or sarcastic, but either way I’d like to re-emphasize that the point is to be faithful servants of Jesus Christ — whether that leads to recognition or obscurity. Paul encouraged his readers to follow him as he followed Christ — the goal again is to point people to Christ. Does that make sense?
July 16th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Great Post and Thanks again for continually pointing people to Christ.
God Bless and Soli Deo Gloria
July 16th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
wow! Thats inspiring( and challenging!!!) =D
July 16th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
This is VERY timely. As I was reading the post on Megan and Mandy’s stand for Christ, I was saying to myself, “Wow — wouldn’t that be wonderful? Isn’t it cool what God is doing in other’s lives?” Yet, at the same time, I was looking at hard things in my mother’s and my life and going, “What a pain! Why is God allowing this?”
And didn’t one of you guys say something in the conference about reading history in reverse? That’s exactly what I was doing with the stories I heard of God’s Faithfulness. Unconciously, I was looking at the story and seeing it as, ‘God rewarded them in the end so they were obedient in the beginning,’ when really, it’s the other way around — ‘They were obedient in the beginning so God rewarded them in the end.’ They didn’t know the result of the hard things they were up against any better than I see the result of my own situations right where I stand. But they obeyed anyway — thus the reward. The reward is for those who obey Him when they believe they will be rescued — and yet they are thrown into the fire, the lions den, strung on a cross, boiled in oil, captured and imprisoned for years on end. God rewards the faithful, the loyal, the ones who trust, speak, stand, and act… even when it hurts.
I think that too often, we (myself included) think that opportunity for a rebelutionary — the opportunity to give a message of Truth to the world around us and glorify God — will look like a platform to stand on, from the onset, when in reality it looks more like a cross to hang on — so we miss it entirely.
It’s not hard to stand on a platform and perform — we get glory. It is hard to hang on a cross, platform or no, and give God glory and praise. It’s easy to say something to masses ready and waiting to be led. It’s hard to live it in the life of a friend in need.
May we all, in the Footsteps of Jesus, be the living word, the living truth, the living message — not just writers, speakers, and public evangelists.
May we not just do the easy thing of speaking out, of acting, of loving and glorifying our Savior when people hear and read and see and applaud. May we do the excruciatingly hard thing of speaking out, of acting, of loving, and glorifying our Savior when no one else agrees that it’s right, when it could cost us something we cherish, and when the world, the religious, and even those we know, look on and hate.
May we not only give Him what we want to give up for His Cause, but ALL that He gave us — not just part of our time, friends we don’t like, or a tenth of our money; but all of our present and future, our best friends and our beloved family, and all of our riches and wealth in this world and the next.
If what we give God is worth what it cost us… how little have we touched His Heart by giving what we may? “I will devote Sundays to You, but the rest of the week is not sacred.” No! May all our time be sacred and for His good Purposes– our whole lives. “I will put my friends into Your hands, but my family is my support system — my safe haven.” No! Would you give your less cherished or your most cherished possession to someone you truly loved? “I will obey You and take a stand after I get my college degree, but right now college is on the horizon and I cannot damage my future by sacrificing for truth now.” No! If we don’t stand now, we never will — hearts and souls only compromise more with age, with knowledge, with success if not stayed on a foundation of holy sacrifice — if not grounded firmly on the altar of surrender.
Yes, may we count the cost — and may we stand anyway. We few. For truth we stand today; tomorrow — its rewards and losses, dreams and cares — is His.
Let us not be His parading promoters who never risk what we love to follow Him, who never know His Heart by taking up our cross, and never know the joy of dying daily for the sake of Truth. In the words of Hudson Taylor, “My dear friends, do let us be REAL!” Let us be His friends; His faithful Bride — both forever and now. Amen.
July 16th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Great article! It reminds me of this funny but true quote I read somewhere (don’t know who it’s by): “Dost thou dust? If thou dost dust, dust all thou dost as though thou dost dust to the Lord and not in the sight of men only.” Thanks for posting this!
July 17th, 2008 at 5:17 am
This reminds me of the Martin Luther King sermon, “The Drum Major Instinct.”
“And then Jesus goes on toward the end of that passage to say, ‘But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your servant: and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all’…. If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness.”
“And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.”
http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/publications/sermons/680204.000_Drum_Major_Instinct.html
July 17th, 2008 at 7:06 am
thats a great blog and its very inspiring♥
July 17th, 2008 at 7:45 am
Wow! It’s really inspiring. I always found it hard to do small hard things. Thanks for the post!
July 17th, 2008 at 7:59 am
All too often I find myself in the “small hard things” category and sometimes I’d wonder, “When do I REALLY get to serve God?”. Then I realized that I AM serving Him with the small hard things. Sometimes it’s the small ones that change us the most and lead us closer to the Lord.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:00 am
Thanks for guiding us to that post! Mr. Sweetman is an excellent writer and that subject is so needful for us rebelutionaries. (At least me, anyway.)
I believe that God will continue to add bigger, hard things to our plate of service to Him if we are faithful with the small, hard things that are sitting in our laps everyday. We don’t have to look very hard to find those. They’re right under our noses.
Mine, anyway. 
July 17th, 2008 at 9:52 am
Thanks for the post!
It provided a great opportunity to see whether my motives and goals are ” for the glory of God.”
July 17th, 2008 at 10:08 am
i really liked that post. i’ve been reading the book “Do Hard Things” and that’s the part that really hit me. I’ve always wanted to be in the spotlight, where all the ‘actions” is, i’ve always wanted to be recogniked, and this was a challenge to me to think less about that and to not mind when i’m doing the small things that don’t seem to matter. It’s really challenging and inspiring.
July 17th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Wow…..inspiring and convicting. Something I really needed….thanks!
July 17th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
You know, this is so true! This, however, does not mean we shouldn’t do big hard things, but if you’re only willing to do big hard things and yet have problems performing small hard things, you may want to check your heart’s condition. It is not about the size of the task, but the size of the One who created the task. How many of you are polite to your parents or siblings only in public? You know why?–because you know someone will see you. You’re either embarrassed about the way you treat them at home (which would ensure that a change needs to be made), or you want someone else to see and recognize how polite you are to them.
The message is not for you to withdraw yourself to an obscurity in every situation; but you need to realize and recognize that God will sometimes ask you to do something that nobody else will ever see–and it is the choice that you make when He asks that will reveal your true character.
July 17th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Thank you much for this reminder. It’s SO easy to look at the accomplishments of others and fail to see the great work God is performing in our own lives as we daily live for Him.
God bless you guys.
DO SMALL THINGS!! (sometimes their the hardest).
~N.R.A.~
July 17th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
I have been thinking a lot about this, and Tim just put into words for me! Jesus says in Matthew 25:21 (from the parable of the talents), “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” We need to be faithful in the mundane. How will we be prepared for the big hard things if we haven’t been faithful in the small hard things? Sometimes the hardest things are the simple things that don’t seem to matter. Let’s become a generation focused on giving God the glory, whether we’re teaching at a conference or studying for a Chemistry test.
July 17th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
This article is so true…our eyes should be taken off of man and to to man of Jesus Christ. I appreciated this!
July 17th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Awesome article! Very humbling…yet uplifting.
July 17th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Thank you so much for posting that. It was just what I needed to hear. Some of those examples are just what I’m dealing with.
Thanks,
Rebeca
July 18th, 2008 at 2:13 am
Thanks for this post… it’s really convicted me of how I’ve been harbouring pride and doing stuff to get noticed by others instead of serving the Lord in the small things I do. God bless, xox.
July 18th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Of course it makes sense! I was amused that the list of “everything we could want” was a description of you two!
July 18th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Thanks for posting this. I had been wondering lately, how would brushing my teeth and reading science be glorifying to God? I realize now that those things are hardest because they’re not challenging, they’re boring. I also see that God doesn’t owe me an explanation for the things he calls me to do or my parents tell me to do. I may not see now how they will ever be glorifying to him, but the important thing is that I know they will.
~Katie
July 18th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
I read part of this article on Tim’s blog. Great post!! Keep up the good work.
July 18th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Last week I went to a intercity ministry camp called “Project 61″, that was going on in Tulsa, Ok. I had had a great time serving the kids and other workers there, but I understand what you guys are talking about, seeking pride in doing it or wishing that I was one of the people leading it. The cool thing is that it’s not that big, but there was a guy that vitited one day who writes for the “World” magizine, so it will be exciting to see what god might do with this ministry. The church that does it is called “Springs of Grace Bible Chuch” in Tulsa.
All For His Son’s Glory,
-Kole
I don’t go to this church, but their pastor used to be my old pastor in Texas when I was real young. Check out their web site if you would like to know more about the chuch or ways you can help.
http://www.springsofgrace.net/
July 18th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
I’m still only Fifteen! But I was real young then.
July 19th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
that’s a really great reminder! thanks for putting that up!
July 19th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
I never even thought that people do hard things for their own glory. It had never entered my mind which I suppose is a good thing. But now I will be aware of my thoughts and make sure my motives are good. Thx!
July 19th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Hey i was at the conference in Des Moines and i thought you guys were amazing you relly left your mark on me and alot of fellow iowans thank you so much.I think you guys should come to my church prairie lakes that would be wonderful thank you guys again god bless.
Cameron
ps.I think you blog is awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 20th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
I’m more afraid of having to do big hard things; I have focused on the small things too much, I think. But I’ve asked (and keep asking) God to open my eyes, and while I usually don’t like what I see, it is worth it! He’s making me grow.
July 21st, 2008 at 12:03 am
I recently realized that perhaps it may be good to clarify a few of the things I said in my previous comment here. I fully stand by everything I said, and am not retracting, but after rereading it I simply felt that I did not explain fully everything that I said and it may be beneficial to add a few words so as not to solicit any confusion as to my intentions.
I’m not sure if I made it clear that I was not condemning speaking from a platform (or having a platform to speak from). God has just been showing me over the past month that the way I see small (hard) things versus big (hard) things still needed adjustment. He’s been showing me that my heart decides if it is big or if it is small.
For example, if I do the laundry (aside from normal chores) out of love for my mom and worship Him while I do it, it’s a bigger gift to Him than writing poetry for a book with a compromised heart that seeks appreciation from people; and staying up a few extra hours to pray for a friend in need is just as important as staying up to meet that writing deadline.
Likewise, the heart of a person (in spite of their words) when they step on stage to speak defines whether they are presenting themselves as a performer or promoter of something, entertaining and pleasing people; or as a surrendered servant of God who desires to live the message of the Cross and Him crucified and risen before friends in need of hearing Truth, pleasing God alone regardless of how people respond to what they say.
In other words, faithfulness and love leads to bearing the cross in dark corners of the obscure, unreached world; and also, to bearing the cross on stage in highschools and in churches, before crowds, in America.
So, to clarify, my exhortation was not about where we are, but about where our heart is — if we knowingly compromise in any way we are shunning the Cross (in that area of our message, our hearts, our stand as we lead) and simply playing a part before the masses, regardless of what we do right. It was simply an exhortation to embrace the Cross and thus the One who hung on it for us; to embrace the hard life of self-denial and cross-bearing rather than ease and comfort-seeking (wherever we are, whoever we are); to be thrown into a furnace heated seven times rather than bow to the low standards of the world or church; to fellowship with Him in His Sufferings that we might know Him and live the Resurrected life as true disciples led by His Holy Spirit into all Truth.
July 21st, 2008 at 12:17 am
Ah… I meant, “so as not to ‘elicit’ any confusion,” not, “so as not to ’solicit’ any confusion” — sorry!
I home-schooled myself. =)
July 22nd, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I was at the Des Moines conference and remember thinking exaclty what this article was about. “It’d be so cool to do this!” So thanks for the reminder!
July 22nd, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Thanks for the post! I’m going to go and read the rest of the article! I just finished the book and immediately after finishing i started thinking about big things i could do… but then i thought about doing small things and all the little things i skip or dont finish or dont do thoroughly. i needed this!
July 30th, 2008 at 7:06 am
A favorite quote from Helen Keller: “I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.” As a wife and mother, I find that my life consists of doing small tasks. The longing to do something heroic is still there, even after age 40 :), but I have to take life day by day, moment by moment, trusting Him to show me if I need to do something other than my ordinary chores.