“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
— Matthew 22:37-40
During the many months of modeling and molding it took to create her 9-foot, 800-pound Babe Ruth in bronze, artist Susan Luery met countless experts and aficionados. Details were meticulously researched and debated. Did the Babe wear his belt buckle on the left or right? Was his hat cocked to the side or worn straight? No fact was too small to escape scrutiny.
That is, except one “minor” detail. The bronze Babe, unveiled at the northern Eutaw Street entrance of Oriole Park, is leaning on a bat and clutching on his hip a right-handed fielder’s glove. The real Babe was a lefty.
Call it “missing the forest for the trees” or whatever you will, but one flaw that nearly every human will experience at some point is getting so bogged down in little details that the person misses the main thing. Several years ago, a plane crashed into the Florida Everglades while the crew was trying to determine why a lightbulb was malfunctioning. They were so blinded by the details that they forgot what was really important.
In the same way, things like volunteering at church, serving on committees, and focusing on worship style, while good, can often take our focus off the most important thing. Keep the main thing the main thing. Love God and love others first and foremost.
Prayer Challenge
Ask God to show you where you might be getting bogged down in the details of the Christian life. Pray He’d renew your focus on loving Him and other people.
Questions for Thought
Though we mentioned a few, what are some other small details of the Christian life that, while good, have the potential to take the believer’s focus off of what’s really important?
What areas of your life need to be put in proper perspective in view of loving God and others?