I am still camping on little things.  A friend and loyal reader of my posts, sent me the following e mail that points out another case of the bigness of little things:

“Your story reminded me of a real life small thing (actually two).

While I was at Gettysburg, a guide told about a fence and 3 degrees.  Before Pickets Charge, the south bombarded the North’s lines all night but they could have done a simple thing that would have been more effective.  When the men charged and got to a low area on the field, they had to cross a simple wooden “stacked” fence.  They were showered with rifle fire.  The problem was, they couldn’t return fire because the rest of the field to the north lines was about a 3 degree  up-slope.  The north’s fire could reach the South army, but the slope kept the south fire from reaching the North army.  40% of the casualties were found on the road by the fence.  Had the South removed the fence during the night, we might be living in the Northern States of America.”

In trying to run down the precise source of the saying, “He who despises little things, shall fall little by little,” I ran across an author with whom I was not at all familiar.  One of the nice things about looking for something is that you might find something else!

Charles George Everard was a physician, land speculator, and minister, who lived in Australia in the 1800’s.  He was a Unitarian, but I try to grab wisdom everywhere I can find it, whether I believe the same beliefs or not.  The rest of this blog post consists of quotes from Mr. Everard.  I hope that they inspire you and me to attend to small, but important things today!  (I still don’t know precisely where that quote comes from!  That is going to be a splinter in my mind, until I can dig it out and hold it up the light!)

Here are the Everard quotes:

“Reader, beware of neglecting to exercise this universal principle in little things. Great occasions for serving God occur but seldom; lesser ones arise every moment. Little things are not to be despised. “He who despises little things, shall fall little by little.” Little omissions of duty, little acts of disobedience, as they may seem to us — may prove a great hindrance along our path. A few grains of dust, or a small insect in the eye, will often cause great pain and annoyance. A little stone in a horse’s foot will make it stumble again and again.

The Christian will find much the same thing from the indulgence of apparently trivial sins. They will . . .
harass the mind,
destroy the peace and comfort which he might enjoy,
prove a stumbling-block to him as he endeavors to run the heavenly race” (George Everard).

“The tiny hair, the spark, the screw!

(George Everard, “Little Foxes, and How to Catch Them!” 1878)

“Catch the foxes — the little foxes that spoil the vines.” Song of Songs 2:15

Solomon is very emphatic here. It is “the little foxes” which do the mischief. If the vines are injured, if the beautiful clusters are destroyed — he warns us that it is the little foxes which have crept in and have been the culprits.

I want to linger over this thought. I want every reader to lay to heart the importance of little things.

“Is it not a little one?” is the excuse of many a soul when entering upon a course that will be fatal to all peace and happiness.

Yes, it may look a little one, but for that very reason, be the more on your guard. A man’s life is made up of little things. “He who despises little things, shall fall little by little.”

A tiny hair has in some way found an entrance into the works of a watch. It touches one of the inner wheels, and so again and again the watch stops or goes irregularly. Much valuable time is in consequence lost, and only after its removal, does the watch prove useful to its owner.

A spark of fire has fallen upon some inflammable materials. It is but a spark at first, but it soon kindles into a flame. By-and-by through that one spark, a group of valuable warehouses is burned to the ground.

A small screw has not been carefully fastened in the boiler of an engine. For a time, no harm comes of it; but after a while, the defect loosens other parts of the machinery. An unlooked for catastrophe shortly afterwards occurs. The boiler explodes and spreads devastation and death far and wide. Many lives are lost, and valuable property is destroyed.

The tiny hair, the spark, the screw — have often their counterpart in the Christian life. A permitted inconsistency stands in the way and hinders the working of the Savior’s love in the heart. A harsh word does a world of harm. A neglected duty brings evil to thousands.

Catch the foxes, yes, the little ones — let not one of them escape! If you would be secure, you must be determined to spare none — not even the very smallest!

Bear in mind “the little foxes” are especially dangerous, because they creep into the vineyard so secretly. They often get in unobserved. Even so, little sins and faults have a peculiar power to beguile the conscience. They often pass unchallenged. They make but little noise or show, and therefore they deceive the heart, and do their deadly work while we are unaware.

Bear in mind also, that little foxes will soon grow. Week by week, month by month, very insensibly to yourself — the little one is growing stronger and larger! The one you thought at first a mere plaything because it was so small — becomes an over-bearing tyrant!

Is not this true of every sin? It grows by use and habit. Its strength and power is constantly on the increase.”