"Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree in the garden?' And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate" (Genesis 3:1-6).
The test set up by God in Eden--forbidding Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil--was a small one. Only one tree in the garden was off limits. And this was no hardship on them--Eden was full of abundance! There must have been hundreds of fruits to make them happy. God really asked so little!
And that's what makes their sin so great. God didn't give them a severe test, impossible to reach. It was a small test, but one big enough to measure their loyalty and love for their Creator.
This small test also shows that what we call 'little things' matter to God. "The Lord made it evident that sin in any degree is offensive to Him" (Patriarchs and Prophets, pg. 61).
What seems little to me and you is big stuff to God. If He's thought it important enough to say it, proclaim it, or command it--it's not a little thing. Details matter. For little steps lead to bigger ones, and big steps ultimately determine our destiny. Because they forge the fabric of our character. "It is the little things which reveal the chapters of the heart" (Adventist Home, pg. 108).
"Little things have an important relation to the great whole" (Child Guidance, pg. 129). Eating or not eating an apple may have looked like a little thing, but it was part of the bigger picture--of being loyal to God, submissive to His word, trusting in His love and wisdom, making Him Lord of every inch of our life, belonging to Him 100%, 24-7.
"Never underestimate the importance of little things. Little things supply the actual discipline of life. It is by them that the soul is trained that it may grow in the likeness of Christ, or bear the likeness of evil" (ibid). For as Jesus says, "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much" (Luke 16:10).
Faithfulness in even small matters--even in what we eat or drink--develops strength of character. It is received through an unreserved surrender to God. "Living apart from Christ [we are] subject to Satan's temptations" (Christ's Object Lessons, pg. 356). Deviating from God's will, even in what looks like a small thing, opens a crack through which Satan can come in. And the devil doesn't stop with one deviation. He doesn't rest til one becomes 2, 2 becomes 4, until our allegiance is broken down, disobedience snowballs and we end up doing whatever looks "right in [our] own eyes" (Judges 21:25).
So if I want to be faithful to Jesus and please Him in all things, I must learn to shun sin in its very beginnings. I can't afford to look at anything God says as "just a little thing." I must be faithful in whatever He asks, big or small.
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