A few weeks ago, a Councilman in a Midwestern city did something small but extraordinary. He changed just one letter. Doesn’t sound like much, does it? Outside of City Hall, someone had painted “Defund the Police” on the street. He didn’t like that message and so he painted over the U in Defund and painted an E instead. The message then read “Defend the Police.” The police in his city had been completely demoralized by those that were denigrating the work they did. I’m sure that having one person stand up and change the messaging was an encouragement to them.

So many times, we think that we have to do something really big in order to make a difference. That man showed us that one small thing can change the atmosphere in a city. Let’s think about another word…Live. Each day we get out of bed and we have a chance to Live. What if we intentionally changed the I to an O? What if we decided that just living wasn’t enough but we were going to make an effort to Love the people we came into contact with? Do we think that would make a difference? Could our actions eventually change the atmosphere in our homes, neighborhoods or cities?

When we look around, we see problems everywhere. We think that something small will not make an impact or have much value. In truth, that is not the case. Jesus himself taught us that “And whoever gives one of these little ones a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.” Matthew 10:42  Jesus was teaching us that we will be rewarded when we do even the smallest gesture if it is done with the right motivation. 

Small things CAN make a BIG difference. What can we do today in order to change the atmosphere in the world we live in? Is there a cup of cold water we can give someone? A bar of soap, a can of soup, a smile, or a helping hand? Let us not refuse to do something because we cannot do everything to fix the problems around us. Let us remember that sometimes it takes changing just one letter in one word! 

Image by Foundry. Courtesy of Pixabay