"For Want Of A Nail"

The Mother Goose nursery rhyme, "For Want Of A Nail," illustrates the fact that the tiniest of details often generate unexpectedly large results. Like ripples on a pond, the smallest action can fan out into immense consequences. The want of a single nail may not appear significant, until it causes a horse to throw a shoe and become disabled. And if that missing horse and its rider miss a battle, that causes a kingdom to fall …. now suddenly, that one little nail takes on critical importance. So must our approach ever be to God's word. When it comes to our obedience to His commands, every word matters! (cf. Matthew 4:4).

David needed only one small stone from a creek bed to topple a giant more than nine and one-half feet tall (1 Samuel 17:4,40-50). If the smallest detail is overlooked or disregarded, unthinkable disaster can occur. For example, Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and a perfect world was destroyed as they then knew it (Genesis 3). Anyone who has ever worked as an accountant or computer programmer knows the true magnitude of small details. A pair of digits transposed, or a single decimal point out of place, can create an accountant's worst nightmare. A single incorrectly typed character can derail an intricate computer program.

In our modern-day society, with all of its technology, many folks like to think in broad strokes. They don't want to be "bogged down with details." In fact, there's a popular series of self-help books entitled "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff!" But unfortunately, there are details in everyday life that we have to deal with. Would we think it amusing if the cashier at the supermarket tallied up our bill and said, "Your total is somewhere around two hundred dollars," or if we received our bank statement in the mail that read, "Your account has two or three thousand dollars in it, give or take a thousand." Yes, we indeed appreciate – in fact, we demand detailed accuracy in these matters.

Some religious folks will say, "It doesn't really matter if we do exactly what the Bible says. If we changed this one little thing, what difference would it make?" The truth is that God has not empowered us to alter His word in even the most infinitesimal degree (Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:6; Revelation 22:18-19). Jesus spoke of God's law in minute detail, "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled" (Matthew 5:18). The word translated "jot" in this text, is the Greek word, "iota" — the letter corresponding to the Hebrew letter "I", the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. The "tittle" is the Greek word, "keraia," which refers to the accent marks used with some letters. If the Lord is concerned with the smallest letters – even the accent marks in His word, who is man to say that details don't really count regarding God's word?

We've all heard the saying, "The devil is in the details" – and so he is. If Satan can convince us to "stop sweating the small stuff" regarding the importance of "every word" in the Scriptures, it won't be long before we have drifted from its major points as well (Hebrews 2:1; cf. Acts 16:14-15  ESV). How sad it would be to miss the eternal glory of our Lord because we failed to count as important the "little things" God values (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).

Dear reader, how tragic to lose the kingdom of heaven, "for want of a nail!"

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets