without the nail
You’ll remember that childhood reminder which was passed down to us by Benjamin Franklin:
“For the want of a nail the shoe was lost,
For the want of a shoe the horse was lost,
For the want of a horse the rider was lost,
For the want of a rider the battle was lost,
For the want of a battle the kingdom was lost,
And all for the want of a horseshoe-nail.”
Sometimes it’s the little things that matter. Results become evident in a crooked building for lack of a foundation; a downed plane for lack of a part; or a crumbling society for lack of key - and simple elements without which humans self destruct.
When a society does not respect, honor and uphold biblical marriage, for instance, it crumbles. Sex outside of marriage creates “unwanted” babies, abortion and single parent homes. When people do not raise their children that lying is wrong, and should never happen, we develop media that spins stories in payoffs that create a political agenda. When fathers do not raise their sons to work hard and provide for their families, boys never grow up, and are still going on ten at fifty. When we fail to be grateful, we become entitled. When we stop honoring parents and leaders, we become demanding and riotous. At some point even talking about it is met with a finger-in-the-ears “I’m not listening” or a genuinely misguided generation which simply can not hear the truth and acknowledge it as such.
All of the above are part of today’s cacophony.
But we don’t need to leave it that way. And we can’t.
Those of us who do know Truth have been set free. When we roll up our sleeves and set to work, we are not doing so to get brownie points, tip some scale in hope of paradise, or earn our way to heaven. No, we work because the Holy Spirit moves in, sets us on fire, and inspires us to ask God for the Kingdom of God to come on earth as it is in Heaven. Do that, and He gets all creative. He places You where He created you to Shine. And you find yourself coming alive. Amazing.
So, don’t let this current world epoch get you down. Get down before the Throne of God instead, and pray, and ask Him what He has for you to do today. It may be simple. It may be step towards something that you will complete later. It may be a deep dive, or an breathless run. But when you do it with Him, it’s good.
There’s no lost nails this way.