The world is full of small innocuous items that punch well above their weight. They barely register on the radar when present, but taken away the world flips its axis.
There's the time you go to pump up your flat basketball and the needle is missing from the air pump. Rocking up to midweek band practice and realising that little piece of brass shaped like a key was left on the dresser. Or in my case, it was leaving the cap off the engine oil compartment.
It actually started with running over another small item—a stray nail. My tire took offense to the intrusion and gave up the ghost. Sitting on the concrete changing the tire I decided to give some extra TLC and top up the oil. I was already running late, so maybe that explains it; but somehow, inexplicably, after pouring in the lubricant I shut the bonnet and walked away without a second thought to the stray cap I'd left sitting on top of the engine.
I didn't notice anything that night. Nor the next morning as I started the car and pulled out of the driveway. 20 minutes into my trip I noticed a weird smell. Strange, I thought, then parked and ran to my meeting. On the way home though, I knew something wasn't right. That smell! All greasy and oily like my brother's motorbike workshop.
As soon as I reached home, a quick walk to the front of the car showed something was very wrong—the front fender was soaked in sticky liquid, slowly dripping down to a shiny brown puddle on the driveway. Opening the bonnet revealed the full calamity: oil. Everywhere. Someone had partied hard in that engine bay, popping champagne bottles like there was no tomorrow.
As I cleaned it up, soaking one rag after another, I couldn't stop thinking how stupid the whole situation was. It was just a wee little cap! How did I forget to put it back on? How did forgetting make such a big mess?!
But apart from beating myself up over how stupid it was, I also realised there was a lesson in it. Seemingly trivial thoughtless things have the ability to blow up and explode all over the place. Small things have big consequences.
Luke chapter 16, verse 10: "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."
It is easy to shorten the devotion to squeeze a little more time into my day. To skip that prayer time because something else came up. To rely on my own strength to solve that problem, my own smarts to deflect that blow. A phone call deferred, a friend left in the dark, a mother waiting for a visit. It's a small thing, right?
And yet as the hand ticks down the clock-face, small things escalate on an exponential curve: insignificant today, off the charts tomorrow. The cap is off, and the oil is out to play.
Thomas Devenish lives in Hobart, Tasmania. He works as a motion designer and enjoys the diverse experiences life has to offer, from wake-boarding to curling up with a good book on a rainy day.
Thomas Devenish's previous articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/thomas-devenish.html