The Greatness of Being Small

Let us be happy to be considered small and insignificant in this world of distorted values, if only we shall be great and mighty in His sight in whose service we live, in whose Name we die, and in whose Kingdom we shall live eternally, in divine majesty, heavenly honor and never-ending glory.

1922 Walter A. Maier Walther League Messenger

The following article is taken from the June 1922 issue of the Walther League Messenger, Volume 30, Number 11.

There is a craze in this world today that has taken possession of people in high and low standing, a madness that distorts the true value of everything, that drives heedless men and women on relentlessly, and makes them cold and artificial; and this is the craze for greatness, the passion for doing big things, the mad desire for power and authority. Eight years ago this frenzy cast the whole civilized world into the whirling maelstrom of bloody war; but even the millions of lives sacrificed to the grinning idol of greatness have not cured the world of this insane affliction. It still grips the rulers of the nations and holds up before them the delusion of world dominion; it whispers into the ears of the wealthy and breeds covetousness and envy in their hearts; it beckons to the men of the laboring class and tempts them with a glimpse of the power that lies in united action; it calls to the scholar and inflames within him a burning desire for fame and honor; and whatever our position and station in life may be, it comes to all of us and frequently do we kneel down and worship at its altars.

But oh, what a contrast to the tinsel and glitter and glamor of this world's greatness is the sinking weakness of the Son of God who humbled Himself in a life of poverty and persecution and finally became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross! When we see Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane imploring His Father with anguish that almost breaks His grief-torn soul; when we behold Him with a crown of thorns pressed into His bleeding head and hear the crowds curse and cry: "Crucify Him, Crucify Him," there is nothing great, nothing wonderful, nothing magnificent about all this, nothing, indeed, unless we know "that the weakness of God is stronger than men" and that the Lord who told St. Paul in his affliction: "My grace is sufficient for thee" also assures us: "My strength is made perfect in weakness."

Young men and young women of our Church today, who live in a world which calls out and tempts them to kneel down and worship at its altars, altars of greed and gold, of sin and shame, must be prepared for a life that will live in constant protest against the fleeting vanities and gilded glories which so many young people consider the greatest good in life and the necessary signs of a successful career. The path of faith is still the way of the Cross, and while it may be more spectacular to earn the applause of popularity and frivolity, it is more eminently worth-while to pass unnoticed and unhonored, but as a quiet and determined worker for a better and happier world through Christ.

How many young people have been so misguided by the passing and changeable greatness of the earth, that they have forsaken their God and Savior to follow the will-o'-the-wisp of position, honor, riches, and authority! How many are leaving the green pastures of God's Church to stumble through a barren and waste desert towards the shifting mirage of earthly greatness and power! How many are there in our own Church who are endeavoring to make a compromise between God and the world, by serving two masters, God and Mammon!

To all such, let it be said: "The path of glory leads but to the grave," and "what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" Much that is despised and held in little esteem by men with their false standards and faulty vision will be held forever in honor and power before the throne of heavenly judgment, "because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men."

Living in Christ and safe in His redemption, we have all that we need for this life and for the life to come. Let us be happy to be considered small and insignificant in this world of distorted values, if only we shall be great and mighty in His sight in whose service we live, in whose Name we die, and in whose Kingdom we shall live eternally, in divine majesty, heavenly honor and never-ending glory.

W. A. M.