Our neighbor around the corner and up the street owns a very LOUD motorcycle.  The kind everyone within a mile can hear approaching.  If you live on the corner with the stop sign, like we do, you can also hear it stop, rev repeatedly, and take off again with a powerful “Brrraap!” on its merry way.

We who would rather enjoy peace and quiet to sleep, write, think, etc., do not feel so merry about this motorcycle, or, by association, its rider.

So imagine my rejoicing when we saw that monstrous machine atop a flatbed trailer attached to the guy’s pickup!  “All RIGHT!  That thing’s not going anywhere on its own for a while!”. 

Days passed.  We passed that “benched” beast on the way to the park many times, each time with a “Thank You, Lord that it’s still out of commission.”

Until a couple of days ago when I saw a nut (not my neighbor).  I mean the kind that attaches to a bolt to keep machinery together and functioning.  It was laying on the street, just behind the trailer with the motorcycle.

First thought—“Oh, this is just a small piece of junk.”

Second thought—“Wait—this could be needed to hold something together.”

Third thought—“What if it goes to this motorcycle?”

Fourth thought—“If it goes to the motorcycle, it could be used to fix it.”

Fifth thought—“Do I really want to help fix it?!”

Sixth thought—this one a whisper from the Holy Spirit within—“Better pick it up and help out.”

So I did—I picked up that little nut and laid it carefully next to the cycle in a place where the owner could see it.

I don’t honestly know if that nut was the exact thing this guy needed to fix his cycle, or even the only thing he needed.

But I did learn two lessons to fix my own thought-life:

First—When Jesus said “Love your enemies” (Luke 6:27), that includes doing anything we can, no matter how “small”, to help them out.  Even if it means enabling them to potentially harm us later.

Now I need to clarify that this guy has never intentionally harmed us.  He’s just inconsiderate about the noise he makes.

In other words, sometimes the people we consider “enemies” have no idea they’re bothering or harming us.  When we love and reach out to them, it also smooths the way to lovingly confront them about their “enemy” behavior.  Hopefully they’ll change and become our friend. If not, at least we’ve done our part.

Second– Everything and everyone is inherently significant, created for an important purpose.  Most of us are not what some would call “big”—i.e., famous and/or powerful.  Our spheres of influence and impact seem tiny compared to these people, or even compared to those we know and admire.

But the world needs “nuts”!

~People who serve in the nursery—so the parents can relax and pay attention in the church service, knowing their babies are well cared-for.

~People who clean the auditorium after the conference has ended—so that the next famous speaker and attendees can enter a sanitary environment.

~The “lowly” office clerk who takes care of the paperwork– so the company runs smoothly.

~US—so that others can be encouraged and enabled.

If that nut goes missing, something falls apart, and the machine can’t function.  That machine may be a heart-monitor, or an airplane engine, or…

Luke 12:7 assures us:  “Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”  The Lord already considers sparrows and each of our hairs valuable.  How much more so us?!

We are not insignificant. We matter.  No matter how “small” or “nuts” we feel!