Dishonest in Little

Luke 16:10
"One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much."

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So often I hear about this principle, that those who are faithful in little will be faithful in much. We use it a lot in leadership to show why it's important to be faithful with all the tasks you have been given, especially the smaller, seemingly less important ones. But I've never really heard much about the second part of this phrase, that he who is dishonest in a little is also dishonest in much.

This puts a lot more meat on the first part of the phrase, because if we just leave it at "He who is faithful in little is faithful in much," we're just using task accomplishment as a barometer for who can be trustworthy in ministry and leadership. In the past, if I failed in something I would just think, "OK, well I won't be trusted with something greater; that's alright." But what Jesus is saying here that it's not only about your accomplishment. If I am dishonest, or unfaithful in little things, then I will also be unfaithful in MANY things.

That's a scary thought! As I've been working on my life plan, I'm seeing areas of my life where I consistently fall short; particularly in the area of planning and follow-through. Whenever I fail, I tend to pass it off as "Well, God knows my heart and I am changing, step by step." There's some truth in that, but I am failing to acknowledge the fact that my unfaithfulness in this area is also a cause of my unfaithfulness in other things.

This is a big wake up call! A little unfaithfulness, even in small areas needs to be recognized and overcome. If not, it will have a direct correlation to how faithful I am in other areas.

True, Jesus is talking in terms of being lovers of money, but he can't be saying that this principle only applies to being faithful or unfaithful in wealth.

I need to be much more aware of my areas of laziness, procrastination, and unfaithfulness (where I don't do to the fullest extent the things I should). If I don't make corrections to be more faithful in all areas, it will affect not just my life here, but my life in eternity.