Incremental before Exponential.

A phrase came to my mind a couple days ago in a staff meeting. "Incremental before Exponential."

It's hard for me to stay in this mindset. I want results, preferably big ones. My nature is not bent toward slow and steady, quite the opposite.

I get fidgety and antsy if something isn't successful on the first try. I get anxious if the preferred picture doesn't paint itself in the first few minutes of an event. I want my Life Group to be deep on the first night. I want every message I give to be "life-changing" since everything is advertised to completely "change your life" these days from soap to slippers.

We are creatures of instant gratification, and I think this might be why Paul was trying to get the people off of "milk" and onto "meat". In another passage he talked of "putting away childish things." There are several milky meanings that could be extrapolated from these texts, but I think they all boil down the inability to embrace delayed gratification and hard, slow, disciplined growth. We like growth like we like our Little Ceasar's Pizza....Hot, Ready, Now!

I was thinking about the time Jesus said that if "you're faithful with the few I will make you a ruler over the many." Small steps and little wins are where things typically start. You have to prove yourself faithful in obscurity, and often times anonymity, before God entrusts you with more. And this is for our good.

Those that are faithful with few will be masters of many. Incremental before Exponential.