Detail Consciousness

Whatever your hands find to do, do with [all] your strength, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where you are going. – Ecclesiastes 9:10 HCSB

It’s amazing how rapidly details can catch up with you. Benjamin Franklin wrote a ditty in his Poor Richard's Almanack that went:

For want of a nail the shoe was lost,

For want of a shoe the horse was lost,

For want of a horse the rider was lost

For want of a rider the battle was lost

For want of a battle the kingdom was lost

And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

Everything we do, or fail to do, can end up snowballing into completely unexpected consequences. For example, we removed timber wolves from a park and ended up killing all the trees! How did one action lead to such an unexpected conclusion? We removed the wolves that controlled the deer. The deer population exploded and they soon ate all there was to eat. They were so hungry they began to eat the bark off of the trees which not only killed the trees directly, but allowed the proliferation of a disease which killed even the trees the deer didn’t eat!

Studies have determined that if a neighborhood allows the yard of an abandoned house to grow over, or a tenement’s windows to remain broken, that crime will soon increase. Apparently people with a criminal mindset see the poor maintenance as a sign of apathy and that criminal activity will probably be ignored as well. They move in and soon the area has a crime problem.

Everything we do, or fail to do, has consequences. That is why those who claim to follow after God (tzaddikim) must make sure that their lawns are mowed. They must be sure that they maintain good testimonies with their neighbors. They must witness at every opportunity. If they are salesmen, they should strive to sell the most that they can. If they are garbage men, they should take care that the lids are properly replaced on the garbage cans when they are done. Everything, regardless of its simplicity or complexity, should be regarded as being of great significance.

The Master was as concerned with the large political goings-on as the struggles of individuals. He would often be surrounded by thousands of people and stop to address the concerns of one leper, one blind man, or one bleeding woman.

Being God in flesh, He was able to give us insight into the Father’s mind and apparently, this attention to detail is a divine quality. Did he not say, “Aren't two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's consent. But even the hairs of your head have all been counted.”[1]

Imitate the Master in this – do your best in every detail, regardless of its seeming insignificance. You simply don’t know what it may lead to.

[1] Matthew 10:29-30 HCSB