Taking God for granted

ONE of the famous laments of Christ was when he went back to his hometown and was treated by his own people with disbelief and suspicion. “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary…?” They felt uneasy with him. Why is he behaving differently from us, they must have asked themselves.

That’s when Jesus said the famous line: “A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and in his own house, and among his own kindred.” (Mk 6,3-4) Indeed, he was like them, except that he also was, and is, not only a prophet, but also in fact, the very son of God.

We have to be wary of our tendency to take things for granted. To our estimation these things may seem to be common, ordinary, of little value. We fail to realize that it is precisely in the little things that we can sow the seeds of the true character of our person.

Failing to take care of the little things means we will most likely fail also in taking care of the big things. Taking care of the little things prepares us for the big things. The little things are like prophets. They can portend how we will behave when faced with big things. “He who is faithful in little is faithful also in much.” (Lk 16,10)

Much more should we be wary of our tendency to take our Lord for granted. We can take him for granted because to our estimation he can only be in the big things, in some special occasions, and the like. We fail to realize that he is precisely in the little things of our life, since in fact, he is in everything.

That is why, when talking about the Last Judgment when all of us will be either sheep or goat, he said to the sheep whom he blessed because they gave him food when he was hungry, drink when he was thirsty, etc., that “as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.” (Mt 25,40)

Our Lord identifies himself especially with the little ones and with the ordinary things and events in our life. He has a special preference for the little things and the little ones as can be gleaned from what St. Paul also once said:

“But the foolish things of the world has God chosen, that he may confound the wise; and the weak things of the world has God chosen, that he may confound the strong. And the base things of the world and the things that are contemptible has God chosen, and things that are not, that he might bring to naught things that are.” (1 Cor 1,27-28)

His preaching has consistently highlighted the importance of humility, of becoming little children, of being the last, of wanting to serve and not to be served. It’s clear that it is in the small things in life that we can find our Lord first and start our relation of love with him.

Failing in that, we most likely will also fail to love him at all, because any love that we may show him in the big things would hang in the air. It would be a bogus kind of love, perhaps showy but actually empty.

We have to make adjustments in the way we view things. Our ordinary duties and chores of everyday should be exciting to us since that’s where we can meet Christ and really develop our love for him. We should rectify our tendency to be excited only in the big things.

And that’s why we should not be picky as to what job or task falls on us in a given moment, because it is not so much the kind of work that we do that matters, as the love with which we do that work, be it a big one or a small one. A gardener who does his work with greater love than that of a CEO in his work would be more pleasing to God.

So whether we are on top or below, in front or at the back, it’s more or less the same, since what really matters is whether do our work with love. And with love, we will always find God, because “God is love.” We don’t have to look for him in some special places, because we can find him anywhere whenever we practice love.

We have to be wary of our tendency to neglect our ordinary duties of the day.