Is God That Particular?

Is God That Particular?

by

Randy Croft

Is God That Particular? Does He Sweat the Small Stuff?

Today--listen till end before drawing too many conclusions. Big topic. Before we ask if God is particular, let’s ask a fair question? Are you particular about some things? No brainer. Think to yourself...What things am I particular about? various answers.

The Oasis (church name) is about split between marrieds and singles. Some of you married, also parents--adds a whole other dimension to married life. Does it ever. One of the first big challenges for parents--before the baby is even born, is coming up with a name. Sometimes this causes stress, because the name is a label this kidz going to wear their whole lives, or pay $50 and have it changed when their 18. There’s fear with some parents that all the other kids in class-8 years away are going to have the same name.

In a recent survey of newborn babies, researchers have determined the most popular boys’ names. They include Michael, Jacob, Matthew, Sean, Brendan, and Brian. Interestingly enough, for the third year in a row, the LEAST popular boy’s name was "Lumpy". So you don’t want it to be so overused. Yet you don’t want it to be so strange that people are always saying "Come again." Or turning their head and laughing. Krista and I are in the name hunt right now for our second baby--born in September. So we’ve gone through name books. Bible name--Mephibosheth, Nebachadnezzer, and Lucifer are all out. For us, we want a name with meaning.

ILLUS: Bring in a child...switch parents. Does it really matter which boy you leave with. You came tonight with a boy, leave with a boy...who cares which boy it is?

All of us here--single or married, Christian or not, are particular about some things. Visited houses--lawns, decorations, bathroom smells like cinnamon. Some particular about the kind of car you drive. Bumper sticker on a big jacked up Chevy pickup. "Have you driven over a Ford lately."

One thing I notice though is that people are more particular about things that they deal with either in their job or as a hobby. Lawyers make thousands by pouring over the small print in contracts. Minor details that have huge legal implications. My brother returned home Kuwait when he was with the Marines in Operation Desert Storm. His shoes were shinier than I’ve ever seen them, and his bed would be made to stiff horizontal perfection. I would have paid him to make my bed like that. Military men and women notice the detailis...A movie several years ago, A Few Good Men with Demi Moore and Tom Cruise--several scenes where the marines saluted at inappropriate times. They noticed.

Investors tend to be more particular about companies they invest in and their insurance needs. Notice things too. Forest Gump--The letter from Apple Computer is dated September 7th, 1975, when Apple wasn’t a public company open for investment.

Athletes tend to be particular about statistics. Reason for it. The difference in a baseball players batting average can be worth several million dollars a year if they get 2-3 more hits per week. Small differenc, yet statistically a big financial payoff.

Golf:1968, Roberto de Vincenzo was tied for first in the Masters Golf tournament (Tiger Woods), but he signed a scorecard that said his final score was 278 when it was really 277. This one slip cost him the 1968 Masters by one stroke. The rule in golf is if a golfer signs for a higher score than he actually shot, he keeps the higher score. Wouldn’t you check your scorecard to see what it said? This wasn’t a game of putt-putt, this was the Masters.

If it’s important to us, we’re more particular about it.

Advertisers have learned the hard way that paying particular attention can save them from costly mistakes.

Nike:

Nike had a television commercial for hiking shoes that was shot in Kenya using Samburu tribesmen. The camera closes in on the one tribesman who speaks, in native Maa. As he speaks, the Nike slogan ``Just do it’’ appears on the screen. What Nike didn’t know until later, was the Kenyan was holding the shoe and saying, ``I don’t want these. Give me big shoes.’’ Most Americans didn’t know, but word got out.

Chevrolet Nova didn’t do well in Spanish speaking countries ... Nova means ’No Go’ ...

A peanut-packed chocolate bar targeted at Japanese teenagers needing energy while cramming for exams ran headlong into a belief that eating peanuts and chocolate causes nosebleeds.

When Coca-Cola first came to China, it was given a similar sounding name ... but the characters used for the name meant "Bite the Wax tadpole."

In Taiwan, Pepsi had a slogan "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation" when translated "Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead."