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Little Earthquakes

I first heard a song called Little Earthquakes by Tori Amos as a freshman in college. The chorus was haunting and stuck with me. Even now, almost 17 years later, without actually playing the song, I can still hear Tori's voice singing: "These little earthquakes/Doesn't take much to rip us into pieces."

It still makes me think, just as it did the first time I heard it. "Doesn't take much to rip us into pieces." I feel like that sometimes. Oddly enough, I find that I'm not afraid of the full frontal attack of the enemy. There are certain areas in which I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that Satan cannot get me to stumble wittingly no matter what He may try.  Those "major" sins are no match for a SuperChristian like me. I stand on the Word and I know in whom I have believed and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day (see 1 Tim 1:12).

Ah, but those little earthquakes... If you're like me, you tend not to be as vigilant over the little sins as you would be over the big ones. You most certainly would NEVER tell a bold-faced lie, but a little half-truth in order to avoid an unpleasant or awkward situation is no big deal.  Steal someone's money? Never! But fudge a little on your income taxes? Come on....doesn't everyone? And we would never allow ourselves to hate anyone. God forbid! But...if we never have to interact with or speak to __________ (fill in the blank), that would be just fine.

There are literally thousands more examples.

These are the little earthquakes. Or better said, little areas of compromise. They slowly erode and eat away at the foundation of faith and holiness upon which each Christian stands. Little earthquakes in the life of a Christian are like tiny cracks in a pane of glass.  One crack may not have any effect. But as more are added, the strength of the glass is compromised until the slightest pressure causes it to shatter into tiny pieces. That's when we wonder, how did we get here?

The simple answer is that we chose the path of least resistance. The convenient path. And we fooled ourselves into believing that the holy and righteous God we serve does not concern Himself with the little things. God understands, we tell ourselves in justification. But does He? His standard is holiness and that is unwavering, whether we are faced with the temptation to commit the "major" sins or just the human reflex to succumb to the "little earthquakes."

Sadly, many of us live our Christian lives thinking we are fine because we have abstained from the big sins and our pane of glass is intact. But if we were to take the time to examine it, we would see thousands of tiny cracks caused by the little earthquakes that we live with every day and to which we pay little or no attention. But we need to pay attention. As Paul warns in 1 Cor. 10:12 (KJV), "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." In other words, let us take care to guard against the damage caused by little earthquakes.

Father, for too long we have been concerned about the bigger things and left the smaller things unchecked, failing to realise that You require us to present ALL of ourselves as a living sacrifice. Forgive us for ignoring the little earthquakes in our lives that serve only to drive us farther away from You. Give us a heart like Yours so that we may please You in all that we do. We ask this in the name of Your Son. Amen.

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