The Divine Will in Little Things

"Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes" (Cant. 2.15).

Jackals, they were, abundant in Israel in those days - the AV translators were rather weak in their Natural History. Packs of little jackals, nibbling voraciously at the stems of the vines, inhibiting their growth so that the fruit withered and died. The Hebrew word for "spoil" means to corrupt to destruction. Fitting simile for the little things of daily life which can lead astray unless regulated by our knowledge of the Divine Will.

But how to discern that Will? In the bigger things of life the way is usually fairly clear; the dividing line between what is right and what is wrong in the Lord's sight is so plainly stated in the Word, so evident in the light of our knowledge of the Divine principles, that there is little doubt. We choose either the right way or the wrong way, knowing what we do, and abide by the outcome. But in these little things, so apparently trivial, so everyday in their occurrence, so seemingly unimportant, does it really matter so much? Is the Lord really so concerned? Will it really have so much effect on our Christian lives?

It is then that we have to remember the little foxes.
Just a little nibble at the stem, and the fruit withers.

It is related of William Penn, the celebrated colleague of the Quaker leader George Fox, and later on founder of the American State of Pennsylvania, that shortly after his conversion he had such a problem. William Penn was a highly placed member of society, a nobleman in the 16th century Court of King James of England. As such, and in common with his equals, he was expected to wear his sword at all times when in public; to appear at Court, as he was frequently required to do, without it, would be taken as an insult to His Majesty. In the past carefree days that presented no problem, but now that he was a Christian, and a Quaker to boot, well, that was different. What would the Lord have him do? So he came to George Fox with his problem.

The Quaker leader surveyed him dispassionately. "Wear it as long as thou canst, friend William" he said.
At their next meeting Fox looked at his friend. "Where is thy sword, friend William"? He enquired.
The answer came equally seriously. "I took thy advice, friend George. I wore it as long as I could".

There, perhaps, lies the answer. Our Lord is not so demanding that we in our insufficiency must make the right decision in this field in every little problem and facet of life, as that we think about it and decide for ourselves what would be the right thing to do. If we have made the wrong choice in all sincerity, He can easily put it right - or perhaps leave it to the outcome so that we can learn the lesson for ourselves. Pupils in the school of Christ do not always get their sums right first time, but so far as the Teacher is concerned the important thing is that they pass the examination at the year's end. In the meantime, "he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust" (Psa. 103.14).

St. Paul had a healthy outlook on questions of this nature. In his day one of the minor problems was the propriety in the Lord's sight of eating food, usually meat, which had previously functioned as an offering on the altars of the pagan gods of Rome. Such food was afterwards sold in the public markets (1 Cor. 10.25), and formed a major part of the daily food of the poor - and many of the early Christians were poor. Said Paul "I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself - but to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean" (Rom. 14.14).

The Lord places more importance upon the sincere endeavour of the Christian to form a right judgment than upon the rightness of the decision. Should he or should he not devote a measure of time to the pursuit of good music which might otherwise be given to the study of the Scriptures? The Lord loves good music; he spoke of little children playing their pipes, and anyway there are harps and trumpets, or their celestial counterparts, in Heaven. Or should I participate (judiciously) in a social festivity? One of the first things our Lord did after his baptism was to attend a wedding; not only so, when the wine ran out He provided some more. Is it a case of personal adornment? The first clothes any human being ever wore were fabricated by the hand of God in the Garden. It is for us to use all things gratefully, moderately, wisely, to his glory. "Whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, do all to the glory of God."