Few things are more detrimental to your walk with Christ than ignoring the little things. The tragedy of neglect is that good habits disappear quickly when left untended. The disciplines you’ve instilled in your life that have allowed you to make great strides in your walk with Christ can dissolve overnight if you don’t do the work of maintaining them every day. Cherished relationships wither and fade if we do not feed them.
We must renew our commitment to living the life of a disciple every day. We can never take our foot off the pedal and begin coasting. There are no days off. Without daily attention and determination, the pull of sin will undermine everything we live for and relegate us to a weak and wasted life.
Jesus said His disciples would need to pick up their cross daily (Luke 9:23-24). No matter how exhausted we are from carrying our cross the day before, each morning we must trust the Lord to renew our strength so we can pick it up again. We must choose self-denial again and again because the tragedy of neglect leads to selfishness. Selfish people will not enter the Kingdom of God, because selfish people will always choose themselves over Jesus.
After rebuilding the wall around the city of Jerusalem against all odds while enduring danger and hardship, Israel once again slipped into their old habits and sinful ways. So quickly, they forgot about the blessings of God and ignored His instruction to them. The tragedy of neglect was on display everywhere you looked (Nehemiah 13:11). Life is never better when we neglect the ways of the Lord. We only find a fulfilling life when we are not neglecting the Lord’s instructions and following in the footsteps of our Savior.
It is all too easy to neglect prayer, Bible study, and serving the needs of others. These things all run counter to the ways of the world. In a busy culture, who has time to pray? We’ve got to climb the ladder, get more than our neighbor, and make certain our retirement is secure. With all the entertainment choices, why would anyone choose to spend their time reading a book written a couple of thousand years ago? Everything in our world is contrary to the Word of God. Satan designed everything in culture to pull us away from Christ and to keep us from drawing closer to Jesus.
The tragedy of neglect ultimately leads to rejecting Jesus and missing out on all He has for us. When we neglect to pray, study, and serve, we are choosing to do what we want instead of what He desires. We are proving we love the world more than Him, which means we do not love Him at all (1 John 2:15). To neglect the little things is to reject Christ. Don’t let that happen in your life. Get up a little earlier and pray. Read the Word of God every day with the intention of knowing Him better. Take what you learn and use it to serve others. Don’t neglect time spent praying, reading God’s Word, or sharing His love with others. Without those disciplines, your life is sure to be a tragedy.
Hat tip to my friend Loren Hicks whose podcast inspired this post.