Little Things Give Them Away

Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.” She said, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels.  Genesis 24:17-20

I will tell you that my past is riddled with the fallout from having been a bad judge of character.  Though I am by nature an intuitive person, I have been naïve about evil.  If someone claimed to be a Christian, I trusted them beyond a point that was prudent.  This came from a lack of instruction in my home.  My parents were also naïve, though I came to understand that they had reservations about people they failed to act upon.

God has been growing me up over the course of my adult life to understand that it’s the little things that give a person away.  And it’s the little things I can easily discount, or excuse, that will get me into trouble.

Eleazer was looking for a girl with good character and a good heart.  It was the little gesture from Rebekah that allowed him to discern that she was qualified to be Isaac’s wife.   Though Eleazar only asked her for a drink for himself, she went above his request by offering to water his entire group of camels.  This meant considerable physical labor for her.

How many have made bad choices in marriage by ignoring the little signs?  If a man (or woman) is guilty of angry outbursts in their twenties, you can be sure that left unchecked, it will only escalate.  To say, “Oh, he just had a bad day!” is to be naïve.  Everyone has bad days but many show restraint and model patience.

In these end times, it is imperative that each one in God’s family asks for wisdom and discernment.  There are many out to deceive and draw the flock away from Jesus.  They look good, even sound good, but it’s the little things that will give them away.  If you’re looking for a pastor, business partner, marriage partner, or prayer partner, be careful.  Excusing bad behavior, even in the mundane, will prove disastrous.

So many of us have been burned because we trusted without wisdom.  Teach us by showing us the signs that we missed.   Amen