There is a theory in science that has not been widely published. It is called the "Butterfly Effect." The term was made popular recently in a Hollywood Movie. The theory seems farfetched at the outset, but this is how it can be explained; one explanation calls it the SENSITIVE DEPENDENCE ON INITIAL CONDITIONS. Some call it a key link to the Chaos Theory… that small initial changes, can bring about radical results.
I’ll give you an example; let’s just say that you were walking down the sidewalk, and saw a patch of beautiful purple flowers growing nearby. They were the "Purple Ponilians." You bend down to smell them, and when you do a bee flies out and stings you right on the nose. You are so angry, you go home, get a hoe, and hack up the flowers.
What you failed to realize was that these little flowers were the last of their kind. Not only that, they were the only suitable nesting ground for the yellow ring-tipped ground lizard. With the Purple Ponilians gone, the lizards are unable to lay their eggs without them.
And that’s only the beginning; the Yellow Ring-Tipped Ground Lizards, already endangered by the lack of breeding grounds, become extinct because this little patch of flowers is destroyed. It doesn’t seem that important, but this was one of the only reptiles controlling the population of black widow spiders in Jackson. Because these lizards are gone, the spiders go crazy.
With the population of Black Widow spiders out of control, a particular field, next to an abandoned Crack House was laden with the arachnids. The Mayor decides to hold a press conference from this field, to discuss the drug problem in Jackson. While he is there, he is bitten multiple times by a Black Widow Spider, and subsequently dies.
The Mayor at this time just happens to be pro-life. However, his replacement is unconditionally pro-choice. He helps pass legislation allowing for increased abortions, for more reasons. Abortions within the state of Mississippi quadruple. One of those aborted is slotted to be a great Evangelist, under who’s ministry over 1 million people should have come to Christ. Another aborted was a biophysicist who would have discovered the cure for cancer.
The results… all because a bee stings you on the nose.
That’s how the butterfly theory works. It says that a butterfly, flapping its wings in mainland China, could through chain reaction, spawn a tornado in Tyler, TX. Answer me this; is it even possible? It seems a little ridiculous; A little farfetched; But IS IT?
I can’t vouch for the Butterfly Effect in the natural realm, but I find a resounding theme in scripture. A little of something can bring about a BIG EFFECT. The Butterfly Effect can be found in the Bible. If you don’t believe it, look at these:
Doesn’t scripture tell us that a LITTLE LEAVEN LEAVENETH the WHOLE LUMP? (1 Cor. 5:6) That’s a SMALL THING, becoming a LARGE THING. It was Paul who told Timothy… “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth…” Then he goes on to say… “But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth a canker…” (2 Timothy 2:15-17) Again, a small thing, INCREASING to MORE UNGODLINESS.
Hosea said this one; For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: (Hos. 8:7) Again… planted small… reaped big. It’s an ongoing theme of the Bible. The SPIRITUAL Butterfly Effect.
Like when Paul said, “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” (2 Timothy 3:13) The SPIRITUAL BUTTERFLY EFFECT; something SMALL affecting something very great in the Kingdom.
There is an interconnectedness to God’s creation. It’s all working in the system God has established. And it’s all connected. Some would say, “Prove that…” Cain posed the question… “Am I my brother’s keeper?” to the Almighty God. God’s response to Cain’s sin, indicated even without an answer, that YES, we are responsible.
The Watchman’s warning in Ezekiel 33, tells us that we ARE RESPONSIBLE for the condition of our brethren. Jesus made it clear that if we cause someone to stumble, that it would be better that a millstone were hung around our neck, and that we were thrown into the depths of the sea. (Mark 9:42) We are responsible for others. That’s a hard reality; a hard truth. If you go to hell, I’m partially responsible for that. But if someone around you goes to hell, YOU’RE partially responsible for it. There is a connectedness to it all.
Everything God made is utterly known to Him. Not even a sparrow falls to the ground that God doesn’t know about it. That’s connectedness. And we’re meant to be connected. We’re meant to be aware of the falling of sparrows in our lives. We ought to have a SPIRITUAL AWARENESS of the connectedness of all of it. Because of the interconnectedness of God’s Creation, the things we do have an affect on other people. That’s where the SPIRITUAL BUTTERFLY EFFECT comes into play.
What I do, affects others. Yes, it might seem like something as simple as the batting of a butterfly’s wings in my mind. And yet, is it causing a hurricane in someone else’s life? There are a lot of things that we would be quick to say, “That’s not a big deal…” But once we send it out, is it going to “BUTTERFLY” ON US? It’s only a little leaven, but will it infect the whole lump? Of COURSE it will!! It’s only a little gossip, but friend, it will “butterfly.”
It’s only a few angry words, but I promise you this, it will “butterfly.” It’s only a little sin, but I guarantee you, it will “butterfly.” It will increase exponentially. It might leave your mouth small, but it will outgrow you quickly It might leave your heart small, but it will outgrow you quickly. It will always “butterfly.”
Why? Because, no man is an Island. The things we do affect others. What if your anger keeps someone from eternity? You better get it under control. What if your not being able to control your tongue, sends someone else to hell? You better get it under control. What if your example, even in SMALL THINGS, is multiplying in the SPIRIT REALM? What if the Butterfly Effect is at work in your life? What if your attitude is “BUTTERFLYING,” and keeping someone from the kingdom? What if your actions are “BUTTERFLYING,” and keeping someone from the kingdom? What if your mouth is “BUTTERFLYING,” and keeping someone from the kingdom? What if your agenda; your motives; your thoughts; your behaviors… what if they are “butterflying” and growing? What if they have an ETERNAL IMPACT?
When Jesus said this, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37) …what He was saying was, “There is nothing more valuable than a human soul.” Just a little word; just a little thought; just a little sin; just a little drink; just a little tantrum; just a little attitude; just a little thing, sends such a small puff of air, such a gentle breeze. But are we spawning a tornado in someone else’s life? Have our words, our actions, our deeds… sowed the wind, only to later have to reap the whirlwind? God help us. There is a SPIRITUAL BUTTERFLY EFFECT.
Paul was right in the Epistle to the Roman Church…
Rom 14:7
7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
A little bit of leaven DOES affect the whole lump of dough. A little bit of sin DOES eventually infect all. A single bad apple CAN spoil the bunch. A small thing CAN become a large thing. Profane and vain babblings DO increase to more ungodliness. And their words do eat like a cancer. Sowing the wind, WILL reap the whirlwind! Evil men and seducers DO become worse and worse. It’s the Spiritual Butterfly Effect.
What winds have you set in motion? What tornadoes have been formed from the words you’ve spoken? What hurricanes have presented themselves from your attitude? Is it possible that the SMALL THINGS we’ve done have caused someone else BIG PROBLEMS? I’m telling you, there is a SPIRITUAL BUTTERFLY EFFECT. That the little words I say, can cause irreparable problems in someone else’s life. The attitude I have might not seem like much, but it can cause someone else to lose their victory. It’s a good reason to start praying like the Psalmist prayed:
“Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity…” (Psalm 141:3-4)
The worst part of the BUTTERFLY EFFECT is… your vision of it is small. YOU NEVER SEE HOW BAD IT GETS AT THE END. You never see the HURRICANE. You only recognize it as your "little puff" in the matter. But I tell you this, ETERNITY will show you the storms you kick off. Eternity will tell every one of us the havoc our words have wrecked. Eternity will show us how our behaviors affected the masses. In Eternity, you’ll see how the beating of the butterfly’s wings in your life, might have caused a hurricane in someone else’s; A SPIRITUAL BUTTERFLY EFFECT.
Child of God, we’ve got an obligation to change our attitudes. We have an obligation to GROW UP. We’ve got an obligation to think of the WEAKER BROTHER. WE ARE our brother’s keeper. We will answer for the storms we send into someone else’s life. We will give an account for every idle word.
How about if we decide to use the SPIRITUAL BUTTERFLY EFFECT for the GOOD OF THE KINGDOM?! What if we just sent out a little word of hope, and it produced a WHIRLWIND OF FAITH in someone else’s life? What if you shared just a little of your faith with someone, and it produced a HURRICANE OF SALVATION in their lives? What if you encouraged someone, and it caused them to step into their destiny? What if you were positive and you turned around someone’s situation? What if you spoke words of HOPE, and you caused someone to keep going, and not give up? WHAT IF?
There is a SPIRITUAL BUTTERFLY EFFECT. The little things you do today will mean something tomorrow. What winds are you setting in motion, with the words you speak, and the thoughts you think? Is your attitude spawning a hurricane of doubt, or a whirlwind of faith? Because there will be a SPIRITUAL BUTTERFLY EFFECT from the seeds you’re planting today. There will be a BUTTERFLY EFFECT, friend. There will be a SPIRITUAL BUTTERFLY EFFECT from your life.
