Making peace with the day of small things
I ran into the following verses (Zechariah 4:6-10) and they fascinated me:
Zerubbabel is in the middle of a huge construction project in rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. If you've ever seen pictures of what the temple looked like, you'll know that it was incredibly big. The size of the blocks of stone, and the precision with which it was built meant that people probably worked hard days with very little evidence of progress. Men would probably go home and say "We've accomplished nothing! Look at how much farther we'll have to go before the temple is complete!" In Europe, some of the cathedrals took a hundred years or more to complete. Can you imagine working every day on something that only your great-great grandchildren would ever see complete? The people working on the temple in Jerusalem had their work cut out for them. It was easy to despise the days of seeming to get nothing done.
Years ago, charities experimented with giving free housing to poor people. What they found was that the buildings would fall into disrepair pretty quickly because people wouldn't maintain them. Something that comes without a cost is instictively worthless to people, even if on the surface they will claim to value it. Now they make people pay a token amount to buy the house or rent the apartment, and it helps a little in making people respect their property. We're designed to have to do a certain amount of work in order to live our lives and enjoy them, even if we're not capable of much. How can you hate not having to work for something? It's designed into us.
The cool thing is that God pays the price to help us do what we need to do. The work on the temple made it seem like nothing was getting done, but God made sure it got finished, even by the same guy that started it. That's some pretty impressive productivity. On our own, there are some huge things like that temple that we're just not capable of doing in our lifetime, but God makes it possible. But like the low income housing, there are also reasons why God won't just snap his fingers and make the temple drop into place from the heavens. We need to play a part in God's creation, or we won't value it. It's just how we are.
Who despises the day of small things? Do you hate not being able to get much done on your own? Do you hate having things handed to you? There's no shame in either extreme. They're necessary experiences because of who we are. We're weak and limited in our nature. Our bodies of dust crumble, but our God-breathed minds have the drive of eternity in them. It's an odd combination.
Enjoy the work God has given your hands to do. If it seems like too much, be thankful for the helpful God who is capable of making it happen anyway. If it seems like too little, enjoy the rest that comes with that. Tomorrow might be busier. In both situations, rejoice at having a life to live and a part in God's creation.
Who despises the day of small things? There are two ways of looking at that question. Who hates a day in which only a little got accomplished? Probably most people. Or, who hates a day in which there is not much that needs to be done? Barely anyone, I would think. I'd much rather have a day mostly free than have more scheduled in it than I am capable of doing. Other people want to feel like they're being useful, though, so a day of few responsibilities is a burden to them. Both questions are related to one of the secrets of who God is, revealed in this conversation between God and Zechariah.So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.
"What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of 'God bless it! God bless it!' "
Then the word of the LORD came to me: "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you.
"Who despises the day of small things? Men will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
"(These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range throughout the earth.)"
Zerubbabel is in the middle of a huge construction project in rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. If you've ever seen pictures of what the temple looked like, you'll know that it was incredibly big. The size of the blocks of stone, and the precision with which it was built meant that people probably worked hard days with very little evidence of progress. Men would probably go home and say "We've accomplished nothing! Look at how much farther we'll have to go before the temple is complete!" In Europe, some of the cathedrals took a hundred years or more to complete. Can you imagine working every day on something that only your great-great grandchildren would ever see complete? The people working on the temple in Jerusalem had their work cut out for them. It was easy to despise the days of seeming to get nothing done.
Years ago, charities experimented with giving free housing to poor people. What they found was that the buildings would fall into disrepair pretty quickly because people wouldn't maintain them. Something that comes without a cost is instictively worthless to people, even if on the surface they will claim to value it. Now they make people pay a token amount to buy the house or rent the apartment, and it helps a little in making people respect their property. We're designed to have to do a certain amount of work in order to live our lives and enjoy them, even if we're not capable of much. How can you hate not having to work for something? It's designed into us.
The cool thing is that God pays the price to help us do what we need to do. The work on the temple made it seem like nothing was getting done, but God made sure it got finished, even by the same guy that started it. That's some pretty impressive productivity. On our own, there are some huge things like that temple that we're just not capable of doing in our lifetime, but God makes it possible. But like the low income housing, there are also reasons why God won't just snap his fingers and make the temple drop into place from the heavens. We need to play a part in God's creation, or we won't value it. It's just how we are.
Who despises the day of small things? Do you hate not being able to get much done on your own? Do you hate having things handed to you? There's no shame in either extreme. They're necessary experiences because of who we are. We're weak and limited in our nature. Our bodies of dust crumble, but our God-breathed minds have the drive of eternity in them. It's an odd combination.
Enjoy the work God has given your hands to do. If it seems like too much, be thankful for the helpful God who is capable of making it happen anyway. If it seems like too little, enjoy the rest that comes with that. Tomorrow might be busier. In both situations, rejoice at having a life to live and a part in God's creation.
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