Big impresses. It never fails to amaze most people. Anything big and strong is deemed powerful. That's why people opt for big things. It's survival of the biggest.

Why big impresses. Why impressive things look big. One day, while sitting pensively on our porch with God, I asked him why big impresses most people. He said, "It's a big world out there. People think big. It's being flaunted around."

"Is big really powerful?" I asked, feeling like a bewildered kid. He replied, "In this world, yes." Then he looked afar and smiled. "But the truth is, small is big."

Brain Washed Big Time

We've been programmed for big things. We've been bombarded by ads and promotions on TV and the radio, in magazines and major dailies, on billboards and even in church--that things have got to be big, and bigger. With burgers and fries and drinks, go large. Grab big discounts on the big sale day. Now, they don't just have extra large but double or triple extra large sizes. You go to big schools to prepare for a big career so you'd get a big take-home pay, and soon be big-time.

In my home country, Filipinos want to go abroad to big and rich countries where they offer better chances to hit it big. And they love seeing big houses and properties there, especially in the US, big and tall buildings, and the big and tall people. Thus, it's a big deal to be big and tall in the Philippines. Supplements for growing taller make big profits here.

Big is Beautiful

You're often gauged in worth by how much you make. Of course, many will deny this, but even church people and religious leaders tend to do the same. When you're a small church, they find something wrong with that. Small churches are failures. You've got to grow big. Small tithes and offering means ebbing spiritual church life. People look for big church buildings to attend, with great interiors and altars and sound systems, and big membership.They want pastors with big names and big-time titles and degrees. They go crazy for mega churches. There was even a time when religious spirits mocked at small bibles.

Parable of the Beholder

The highest paid get the most respect. Moneyed people get to enjoy high regards. God once showed me a visual parable. I saw a big palatial residence where a celebration was in progress. Luxury cars parked inside its premise one after another. Just beside the palace, in a shadowy corner, I also saw a beggar in tattered clothes. The Lord asked me, "At a glance, what do you think most people would easily see, the palace or the beggar?"

"The palace, " I said.

He smiled and nodded agreement. Then He said, "But in the Kingdom, the least is the greatest. Kingdom people will easily see the beggar, though you shroud him in shadows. The Kingdom is blind to men's palaces."

Suddenly, vivid pictures flashed in my mind. I saw a seed, a pearl, a coin, and yeast. "It's a mustard seed," the Lord explained. "Oh, it's that small, huh?" He nodded. "The Kingdom is very particular about small things. The Kingdom is like a mustard seed, a precious pearl, a lost coin, and small amount of yeast." Then He hurriedly added, "You don't bake a whole cake of yeast, do you."

I've always wondered why it was not a "nugget of gold" or a "gold coin"  or a 100-dollar bill instead of a pearl or a simple coin. "Gold is definitely more costly than pearl and a common coin on earth," God suddenly answered without my asking him, "but you see, gold is merely street pavement in heaven." Then he patted me on the head: "And the dollar keeps falling."

Umm, so that's why small is big.

Broad Doors and HIghways

Big is in the eye of the beholder. If the beholder is earth-bound, the orientation is to see big as better, successful, and powerful. If the beholder is Kingdom-bound, the orientation is a preferential option for the small. Hence, the poor in spirit are blessed. The least is the greatest. Slaves get the highest regard. There's celebration over one sinner who repents than 99 souls who don't need to.

Then I chuckled--nothing of these sorts are given honor even in churches. They elect the moneyed and degreed. They shun pastors who have no masters or doctorate. And there's a stupid race of who's able to pack the most number of people in their churches--instead of assuring that at least one sinner is genuinely repented. You see unrepentant sinners today running the church.

"You know why impressive things look big?" God asked me. "Because only a few opt for the narrow door and road. Everyone has gone after the big doors and highways."

It's like a popularity contest. A thing looks impressive when the majority thinks so. Or, a thing is impressive if popular people do it. Like divorce. Like adultery. Like enormous wealth. Showbiz and politics have so glamorized things like these so that anyone doing them is deemed big-time. Some churches have followed suit. I've heard discussions in Christian circles about the acceptability of marriage annulment.

Here's a Truly Big Life

I gave a deep sigh and asked, "So why is small big?"

It's easier said than done--small is big. But it's actually a dangerous principle to live. "It's the cross," Jesus affirmed. "The cross is dangerous but it's the safest place on earth." Then he looked me in the eye: "Why do you think I opted to be born in a barn, in a dirty manger where animals defecated, than in the safety of a hospital or an inn?" I shrugged my shoulders. "Because small is big!" he said with wide excited eyes, in answer to his own question.