June 2008 Issue

Small Turns — Right Direction
by Charles Lowery

It hit me the other day! Actually I hit it. My caddy said to spank the ball down the middle. I shanked it to the left. We finally found it hidden in the rough, and I told the caddy that this surely could not be my ball. This ball was way too old. He replied that it had been a really long time since we had teed off. Okay — so it's my ball. I do have a shot, though, and the only thing between me and the green was a small branch.

Trees are 90 percent air so all I had to do was to aim for that small branch. I would never hit such a tiny object and then my ball would be on the green. That's when it hit me — the golf ball, that is. That tiny ball hit that small branch, and it came right back at me. The caddy said that was a penalty. I told him it was a foul ball. That happens to Derek Jeter of the Yankees all the time.

So then I line up for another shot. There is no way I can hit that small branch twice. Folks, I'm here to tell you that miracles do happen. This time the ball went right off the small branch and into the lake! After the penalty drop, I hit a great shot four feet from the hole. Just a small putt for a pretty good score is all I needed. Three small putts later I had a nine after one hole. That's when it really did hit me. Small things can cause a lot of damage.

Bill Vukovich, Sr. won the Indianapolis 500 in 1953 and 1954. In 1966, when Vukovich was going for his next victory at Indianapolis, he was killed in one of the most advanced racing cars that had ever been built. It crashed because of the failure of a small cotter pin. When you think about the money that is required to build these cars, it is astounding to know that a small pin cost the life of one of the greatest racing drivers of his era.

It turns out that one of the largest things on earth may have been brought down by one of the smallest. According to one of the latest scientific theories, an asteroid did not end the dinosaur era — it was mosquitoes and ticks. The theory is that the problem was the spread of insect-born diseases or possibly even the changes that mosquitoes had on plant life. If this theory is true, what a great reminder that small things can do quite a bit of damage.

Let's be positive though. Small things can also bring about great results. Jack Eckerd, founder of the Eckerd drug store chain, was an innovative business man. He spent most of his time in his stores talking to employees and customers and that's where he learned that small changes make a big difference. He called it the lesson of the red rubber balls. One day, he noticed that the display of balls was completely full. Big red rubber balls were not selling. He asked his top-level management why this was the case, and of course, they had no idea. (I've discovered that top-level people rarely understand bottom-level problems.) So he asked one of the clerks why she thought they were not selling. Without hesitation she explained what should have been obvious. Children are the ones that buy red rubber balls. The balls were displayed on the top shelf where the children could barely see them, much less get their hands on them. The red balls were moved to the lower shelf and soon sold out. Small changes can make a big difference.

The delivery giant UPS has just made a small change in their delivery routes. It has redesigned its routes so that the drivers will make a minimum of left turns. As a result, in one year, the company shaved 30 million miles off of its deliveries and thus saved a cost of 3 million gallons of gas. It also reduced truck emissions by 32 thousand metric tons. Also, turning right is safer because drivers don't have to face oncoming traffic to make a left turn. It's amazing that one small change had so great a financial and environmental benefit. (With the price of gas, I thing I will speak at churches with right turns only.)

There's an ancient proverb that says that men trip not on mountains but stumble on small stones. Several years ago, a man set a goal of walking from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, a trek of more than three thousand miles. When he completed his journey, reporters swarmed around him and peppered him with countless questions. As reporters and well-wishers asked question after question, one question quieted the crowd. "What was most bothersome to you in your journey?" Many expected it to be the scorching winds of Arizona or the mountainous terrain of Colorado or sleepless nights and lonely days. After a pregnant pause, the fellow simply said, "Well, I had some sand in my shoe and it was hard to get it out."

I guess that is why Jesus often taught about small things — a hand, a foot, an eye — that often defeat us. Let's decide that we will not let small things keep us from the leap that God wants to accomplish in our lives.

P.S. On a personal note, I will be preaching at the Pastor's Conference in Indianapolis. I would love to meet some of you and maybe sign a book. We might even have a meal together. One small thing: I have no Convention Budget, so the meal is on you.

Charles Lowery is a member of First Baptist Church, Bossier City, Louisiana, founder and president of LIFE, Inc., and is in a fulltime speaking ministry. You may contact LIFE, Inc. at 903-881-9422 or www.charleslowery.com.

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