Don’t Make Mountains out of Molehills

“Better never trouble trouble until trouble troubles you. For you’re sure to make your trouble double trouble when you do.”

—DAVID KEPPEL

Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]

—John 14:27

There are too many people today who insist on sweating about the small stuff. They let little details get to them and upset them so much that life is always filled with problems and worries. Someone said, “Choose your battles,” and that is wise counsel. There are enough major events in most of our lives that we need to deal with—we certainly don’t need to make a big deal out of things we could just as easily ignore.

There are multiple opportunities each day to become upset about something, but we have the choice to let them go and remain at peace. Satan sets us up to get us upset! Locate the things upsetting you and get to know yourself—decide to let go of all the little ones that really don’t make any difference in the overall scope of life anyway. The Bible says it is the little foxes that spoil the vine (see Song of Solomon 2:15). How many people get divorces over all of the little things they kept recorded in their hearts that eventually became big mountains they could no longer climb over? If we take no account of the evil done to us as 1 Corinthians 13 instructs us to do, we will have much better, much simpler relationships. At one time, I was a very good “accountant”—I kept account of all the things people did to me that hurt or offended me. My life was also a big mess; it was complicated and I was not happy.

Don’t be someone who is easily offended. You will be the one who suffers the most if you are. Usually, when someone offends us, it is never their goal to do so. Get into a habit of believing this and you will take an important step toward a simple life. If our minds are cluttered with thoughts of what everyone has done to us, we definitely won’t be able to experience or enjoy simplicity. For life to be simple, our thoughts and emotions must be pure. Our hearts must be fully open to forgiving people instead of receiving hurt or offense.

When we spend an excessive amount of time meditating on what people have done to us instead of what they have done for us we lose our joy. We develop a critical, murmuring, defensive attitude that displeases God. We can see much of the complication of life removed when we become willing to quickly and frequently forgive.