Small things can affect things greatly

What are small things that affect things greatly? Here are a few to get you thinking:

* Spark starts a fire
* Rudder turns a ship
* Tick can cause lyme disease
* Splinter, turns to infection, turns to gangrene?

It truly is amazing how the little things seem to matter when we really don't think about them until they affect us. The spark and fire piece is what got me thinking about this the other day. I read an article about a golfer who hit his golf ball into a rock, which caused a spark, which caused a 25 acre fire. ou can read more about it here.

There is something about this in the Bible too. Check this out. (James 3:3-12)

³When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. ⁴Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. ⁵Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
 ⁷All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, ⁸but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
 ⁹With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. ¹¹Can both fresh water and salt^[a] water flow from the same spring? ¹²My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Do you ever struggle with your tongue? Do you know what I mean? Maybe it's gossip, or tearing people down, or making fun of people, or sarcasm (ooohh, that one hurts a little) or perhaps it's lying. I don't know what it is for you, but what I do know is that the small muscle in our mouth we call the tongue is very powerful. We have the ability to make someones day or completely destroy it.

Who will you encourage today with your words? Come on...commit to it. And make it take a little effort.