Have you ever suffered from "sophomoritis"? It's not a physical disease, like arthritis. It's a spiritual disease many college sophomores get when they get filled up with knowledge, come home on a vacation, and act like they know more than the folks around whom they grew up, especially their parents and younger siblings. That happened to a young man named Adam. He was studying to be an engineer at the University of Illinois in Urbana. On Christmas break, he got quite caught up with himself and started acting as if he had much more knowledge than his family. He excused them, of course, because his family members had never been to college, but he was quite sure that his father just didn't know much about anything and his mother knew even less. As for his younger brother and sister, well, it wasn't even worth the time of day to talk to them. When Adam talked, it was with an air of superiority.
His family noticed the change in his behavior right away, it even caused a few squabbles with his younger brother. When Adam left to go back to college, his father explained to the others, "Many students go through that kind of thing. As they begin to learn new things, they think they know a lot. When they learn a lot more, they know that they don't know very much. The truly smart person knows that there is so much more to learn in his field that he really is humbled by what he doesn't know."
Adam had not only been critical of his family for what he considered their lack of knowledge, but he had also been critical of their average lifestyle and their common house and car. "When I get out of college, I'll make a big salary, drive a big car, and own a big, beautiful house," he boasted to Betty Lou, his younger sister.
"Is bigger better?" Betty Lou asked.
"Always," Adam replied crisply and loudly. "Big is what life is all about."
Adam lived that creed, "Big is better and bigger is better yet." After college, he became a big success. He had three luxury cars and a house three times the size of his father's house. He often tried to tell his dad how happy he was and how much money he had. His father, Joshua, always told him to remember what he had learned about Jesus as a boy in Sunday school, church, and home. For most of his adult life, Adam neglected God, the teachings of Jesus, and the biblical base that his parents had given him for life. Instead, his creed, "More, more, more; the bigger the better," resulted in values that led him further and further from the values he had been taught as a youngster. "I can be a good guy without God," he said. He was only fooling himself, but he wouldn't listen to anyone else.
The biblical corrective for such attitudes and boasts, and for any and all aspects of an attitude of superiority, is this little parable spoken by our Lord and presented to us in Mark 4:26-34. We know people like Adam who go through phases when they act like they are superior, often to cover up feelings of inferiority. We also know that temptations and the demons of bragging, putting other people down, and thinking that we are bigger and better than others, lurk just beneath the surface in all of us. In other words, all of us need to hear this biblical corrective for pride, arrogance, and the dangers of being self-centered. That's why we need to hear what Jesus says about the kingdom of God, the biggest and smallest thing of all. "It (the kingdom of God) is like a mustard seed..." (Mark 4:30).
Is the kingdom of God just another technical term used by theologians and pastors, like lawyers use big legal terms, doctors use complicated medical and drug terms, and government people use confusing tax jargon? No, it isn't. As we listen to Jesus speak of the kingdom of God, keep in mind that he is telling us what God is like, what we are like, and what our neighbors are like.
As Jesus used the term "the kingdom of God," it means that God reigns over us for our own good. That God reigns over our lives is the biggest thing of all.
God rules. Not dictators, not kings or government officials, not bullies, arrogant bosses or relatives, but God. We don't rule our own lives. God rules the universe, including you and me. That's why we pray, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
God rules over us. Whether we believe it or not, whether we like it or not, whether it is acceptable to us or not, God rules over us. The Bible teaches that we are ultimately responsible to and will stand before God who judges the living and the dead. That's why we pray, "Thy kingdom come."
God rules over us for our own good. God doesn't rule because he needs to feel powerful or have people bow before him. He rules over us because he knows what is best for us. He will lead us to what is beneficial for us if we don't refuse to follow his ways. That's why we pray, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," or as another translation puts it, "Save us from the great ordeal (the ultimate suffering of God being silent) and deliver us from the evil one."1
Life is a mystery. An avid reader once said, "I always read the last lines of a mystery story before I read the story." When asked why, she said, "I want to know how the mystery is going to end before I begin it." As Christians, we know how the mystery of life will end. At the end of time, as Paul says, "... Every knee will bow... and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11). Since that is true, we know how we are called to live, under the reign or rule of God for our own good.
All of us sin and get caught in the trap of being self-centered. The center of the word "sin" is "I." That's the unsolvable human problem. No act of the self can lift the self out of the self by the self because the self is the problem. We need to be saved. We need a Savior.
Adam, lived life with the big "I" in the middle. He claimed that he didn't need a Savior. He tried to rule other people and run his own life without any reference to his Creator or Redeemer. He paid no attention to the Holy Spirit who was available to bring him spiritual growth and fulfillment. Adam thought that bigger is always better, so he tried to get more and more things of the world.
On the back of his big, beautiful motor home he placed a bumper sticker that read: "At the end, the one with the most toys wins." On the back bumper of one of his big, beautiful sport cars he had another bumper sticker: "Number one drives here."
Adam's father warned him that he was flirting with disaster, but he paid no attention. His dad had frequently said, "Unless that which is above you, controls that which is within you, that which is around you, will. Idolatry has consequences." Adam didn't like that, so he tuned out his dad's words. "I don't believe in God anymore," he said. "I don't need God." Adam had money and power. He thought he had it all. He thought he knew it all. Troubles waited around the corner.
Adam's life seemed to go well enough, but something was out of kilter and trouble was on the horizon. After five years of marriage with many ups and downs, Adam's wife divorced him and the divorce was expensive. The tension between the former husband and wife got worse as years passed. When his two children grew into teenagers, Adam found that they avoided him. His attitude of always saying that he was right drove a wedge between him and his children. Former friends were alienated by his tendency to blame everyone but himself for his troubles. Adam's troubles compounded when his self-righteous attitude caused him to get fired at work.
Adam's parents, his brother, and his sister tried to help but were frustrated since he continually refused to take responsibility for his troubles. On top of all his other troubles, Adam had a drinking problem. He maintained he wasn't an alcoholic and that he could stop drinking any time he chose to, but somehow the drinking never stopped. He was locked into the alcoholic syndrome -- drinking to solve problems until drinking became his biggest problem which he tried to solve by drinking. One drink was too much and a thousand drinks were not enough -- the alcoholic predicament.
Adam's predicament was compounded by his attitude. "Me first" is a self-defeating creed which precludes hearing the still small voice of God. Looking for the big, expensive, and powerful things in life, life's illusions, Adam missed the biggest thing of all, God's kingdom.
Duane "Bud" Potter was the leader of a small men's Bible study group. The men had a great time studying God's word, but Bud and others knew they should do more than study. "We need to be action oriented. We need to do some work with our hands, as well as with our heads," Bud said. "We are just beginning to line up the projects, but we want to select a name." The group turned to their pastor.
"Why don't you call yourselves 'Go and Do Likewise,' after the parable of the Good Samaritan" (Luke 10:3), the pastor responded. The men's group began their service of "going and doing likewise," by painting houses for people. They painted for people who could not afford to hire someone to do that work. These people also couldn't afford to buy the paint. The "Go and Do Likewise" men bought the paint and did the work with no charge. The people in the community who received the work found it hard to believe that anyone was doing that kind of work for them for no payment at all. They were amazed when Bud and his friends told them that they were just doing what Jesus said to do. "You Christians are amazing," many said.
Over 100 houses later, the "Go and Do Likewise" (GADL) movement moved from a small community effort to an international ministry. Bud heard from a pastor in a small village in Africa that he and his small congregation needed help. Today, Bud and the men, women, and youth GADL workers have made many trips to that small village in Kenya, West Africa, where clean water, new buildings, and education for children are now real.2
From the small world of a twelve-man Bible study to an international movement -- that's what could be called the fulfillment of both the mustard seed parable and the parable of the Good Samaritan. That ministry movement has the opposite foundation than the creed on which Adam had built his life. A life lived for God and others -- that's a contrast to the "me, me, me," philosophy of Adam.
Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground" (Mark 4:26). Then he added, "It (the kingdom of God) is like a mustard seed which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground..." (Mark 4:31). In both cases Jesus is telling us that small beginnings, when linked to God's purposes, can have enormous results.
The high, holy kingdom of God that is the biggest and most powerful thing imaginable, is also a small, small world of unseen spiritual forces for good that grow imperceptibly. Count on it. Drop seeds by witnessing for God and you will find that God can use them to change people and turn people back to him. Mustard seeds can grow into great trees.
The farmer doesn't make his seed grow. Neither does the Christian witness make his spiritual seeds grow. If spiritual seeds grow to a mighty size, like "Go and Do Likewise," it is God who brings the growth. God's witnesses don't convert anyone. They are just used by God to begin the process of growth by words and deeds. Bud puts it this way, "It is God who gets the credit for the good works done by 'Go and Do Likewise'; not me and not our group. Jesus gets the glory, not us."
Night and day spiritual growth can take place "underground" in quiet out of the way places -- small towns, small churches, by softly spoken words of affirmation as well as by loud brass bands, huge choirs, and dynamic eloquent preachers in cathedrals. The parable of the mustard seed encourages us to believe that small deposits can result in large growth -- in us and in those we serve. Often, we don't even know that the seeds we planted are growing in another person's heart.
At his father's funeral, Adam asked if he might be one of the family members who said a few words. Some family members shuddered at the thought, fearful that Adam might make a fool of himself. After all, as far as anyone knew his life had gone from bad to worse. Adam might spoil the funeral for those who had come to honor and remember his dad. But since he was the son, there was no way to keep him from fulfilling his request.
When his turn came, Adam walked to the podium and tried to smile through his tears.
Dad always told me to love God and serve people. He not only told me that, he also lived by that creed. Dad was the smartest man I ever met. Of course, as some of you know, I haven't always followed his ways or his example. As a matter of fact, for much of my life, I've gone in the opposite direction from my father's ways. For a season of my life I thought my dad didn't know much of anything about how life really worked. For that season I have deep regrets. I was a "know-it-all" who didn't know much of anything. I was all puffed up with myself.
As Dad predicted, life came tumbling in on me with my divorce, my self-pity, the loss of my job, and a problem with drinking that I mistakenly thought I could handle, but which I continually messed up. The hardships and hard knocks of life often teach us some things we can never learn in school. One of the things I've learned since my sophomore year in college when I thought I knew it all is that small, quiet beginnings can often lead to great achievements.
Small, quiet beginnings and consistent faith in God with selfless service to others -- that's what my father was all about. That's what I want to be about. About a year ago I began a turnaround in my life that centers on God. I joined Alcoholics Anonymous, started attending church again, and joined a small men's group that studies the Bible and does service for others. It is called, "Go and Do Likewise." I know that this is just a beginning and daily I pray that I will not fall back into a life of self-centered behavior, but I now believe in small beginnings. Finally, I am following my father's advice. Dad always said, "Son, if you just remember that Jesus is your Lord and Savior and that he wants you to serve others, you'll do well in life." That's the most important thing I've learned since I thought I knew it all.
Adam's mother and sister were sitting in the first pew in front of the podium, smiling through their tears.
The ads often tell us that big is always better than small, that bigger is even better than big, and huge is better than all. That's an illusion perpetrated by those who just want to make more money by selling us more and more stuff. Sometimes, when it comes to really important things, like coming back to God, it takes parents, Sunday school teachers, and other seemingly unimportant witnesses who plant seeds that may be hidden for years, but eventually bear fruit.
The world says that small is of little value. In fact, small beginnings in the kingdom of God can lead to the biggest thing of all -- eternal life.
1. Ron Lavin, Abba (Another Look at The Lord's Prayer) (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 2003), pp. 69ff.
2. Further information on "Go and Do Likewise" can be found by contacting Bud Potter at dolikewise@aol.com.