Coco Calling No. 115 - Small is Beautiful

I rather like today’s blog title because it could easily describe me! You don’t have to be a large Amazon or a dashing Macaw to have good looks and stunning colours. Pocket-sized parrots can be just as good!

Sadly, today’s blog isn’t about me at all. No, the title’s borrowed from a famous collection of essays published in 1973 by the economist Ernst Friedrich Schumacher. At the time, it was quite a revolutionary book because most human economists believed that “big was best” and “the bigger, the better!” But “Small is beautiful” challenged that belief, and went on to become a massive best seller.

And in so many ways, the title “Small is beautiful” applies to the Christian faith as well. Because you don’t have to be big and powerful to serve God well. You don’t have to be an Archbishop of Canterbury, a Mother Teresa, a Pope or even a local Vicar. Nor does God expect us all to set up great new charities, or build new mission hospitals around the world……

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” (Mother Teresa)

And a small thing can be as simple as performing one small act of kindness every day. Keep it up, and that’s seven acts of kindness per week. Or 30 per month. Or 365 per year. Or 3650 per decade. And maybe even 25,000 throughout an entire lifetime. Small acts of kindness can seem insignificant at the time, but they soon add up. Multiply that across an entire population, and just think how different our world would be!

The Coronavirus pandemic has forced so many humans to look afresh at the lives they lead. To consider what’s important. What really brings them joy and happiness. And what really nourishes the inner soul. And so often, it’s the little things which count. It’s those little things which bring us the most satisfaction and which help to make our world a better place. So we ought to make these little acts of loving and giving a driving force in our daily lives……

“You have a destiny to fulfil. You have an assignment to accomplish. Don’t waste valuable time on something that’s not moving you toward your purpose.” (Joel Osteen)

“If you can’t fly then run; if you can run, then walk; if you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” (Martin Luther King Jr.)

We all need to keep moving forwards to fulfil God’s destiny for us. And doing something good for God, every single day, -however small and insignificant it may seem, -will keep us all on track. And the wonderful thing about our Christian journeys is that a lifetime of tiny acts all put together, will build a mountain as our lasting legacy. A mountain of God’s love that we allowed to flow through us. And surely, that has to be the greatest legacy of all.

So, never feel small, unimportant or worthless. Because day by day, you can do something wonderful for God. “Small” really is “beautiful!”