It hit me the other day! Actually, I hit it. My caddy said to spank the ball down the middle. I shanked it to the left. We finally found it hidden in the rough, and I told the caddy that this surely could not be my ball. This ball was way too old. He replied that it had been a really long time since we had teed off. OK. It was my ball. I did have a shot, though, and the only thing between the green and me was a small branch. Trees are 90 percent air, so all I had to do was to aim for that small branch. I would never hit such a tiny object and then my ball would be on the green. That is when it hit me. The golf ball, that is. I hit the small branch and it came right back at me. The caddy said that was a penalty. I told him it was a foul ball. That happened to Derek Jeter of the Yankees all the time.
So I then lined up another shot. There was no way I could hit that small branch twice. Miracles do happen. This time the ball went right off the small branch and into the lake! After the penalty drop, I hit a great shot four feet from the hole. Just a small putt for a pretty good score is all I needed. Three small putts later, I had a nine after one hole. That is when it did hit me. Small things can cause a lot of damage.
Bill Vukovich Sr. won the Indianapolis 500 in 1953 and 1954. In 1966, when Vukovich was going for his next victory at Indianapolis, he was killed in one of the most advanced racing cars that had ever been built. It crashed because of the failure of a small cotter pin. When you think about the money that is required to build these cars, it is astounding to know that a small pin cost the life of one of the greatest racing drivers of his era.
It turns out that one of the largest things on earth may have been brought down by one of the smallest. According to the latest scientific theory, an asteroid did not end the dinosaur era. It was mosquitoes and ticks. The problem may have been the spread of insect-borne diseases, or even the changes that mosquitoes had on plant life. (I thought it came about when they elected dinosaur deacon boards.) If this theory is true, what a great reminder that small things can do quite a bit of damage.
Let’s be positive, though. Small things can bring about great results. Jack Eckerd, founder of the Eckerd drug store chain, was an innovative businessman. He spent most of his time in his stores talking to employees and customers. He observed what was happening in the stores. That is how he learned that small changes make a big difference. He called it the lesson of the red rubber balls. One day while visiting one of the stores, he noticed that the display of balls was completely full. Big red rubber balls were not selling. He asked his top-level management why this was the case, and, of course, they had no idea. (I have discovered that top-level people rarely understand bottom-level problems.) So he asked one of the clerks why she thought they were not selling. Without hesitation, she explained what should have been obvious: Children are the ones who buy red rubber balls. The balls were displayed on the top shelf where the children could barely see them, much less get their hands on them. The red balls were moved to the lower shelf and they soon sold out. Small changes can make a big difference.
The delivery giant UPS made a small change in its delivery routes. It redesigned its routes so that the drivers will make a minimum of left turns. As a result, in one year the company shaved 30 million miles off its deliveries and thus saved a cost of three million gallons of gas. It also reduced truck emissions by 32 thousand metric tons. Also, turning right is safer because drivers don’t have to face oncoming traffic to make a left turn. It is amazing that one small change had so great a financial and environmental benefit.
There is an ancient proverb that says that men trip not on mountains but stumble on small stones. Several years ago, a man set a goal of walking from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, a trek of more than three thousand miles. He wanted to experience the great outdoors, breathe the fresh air and appreciate America for all its beauty. When he completed his journey, reporters swarmed around him and peppered him with countless questions. As reporters and well-wishers asked question after question, one question quieted the crowd. “What was most bothersome to you in your journey?” Many expected it to be the scorching winds of Arizona or the mountainous terrain of Colorado. Maybe it was sleepless nights and lonely days. After a few moments of pregnant pause, the fellow simply said, “Well, I had some sand in my shoe and it was hard to get it out.”
I guess that is why Jesus often taught about small things — a hand, a foot, an eye — that often defeat us. Let’s decide that we will not let small things keep us from the leap that God wants to accomplish in our lives.