1 Peter 5:8 (ESV) Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

That first sentence of this verse tells me to be serious. When I get to know people and make friends I have a tendency to relax and be myself. We should be honest with our friends with whom we have developed trust, respect and like thinking. We tend to gravitate to people who have the same likes and personality traits.

My accountability partner and I share the same sense of humor and we feed off each other. When we start creating these puns, we pun-ish our wives. We have been separated at the lunch table just because of it. There is no harm between us but the enemy is seeking to devour someone and it isn’t going to be us. It will be someone in close proximity to our jocularity.

Group settings are diverse in personality. Some you know better than others. How one person perceives and receives information may be different than that of one you know very well. Speaking to a dear friend in that relationship language has a tendency to make others feel excluded or cut off. Personal experiences allow us to relate in ways that are lost on others and it should not be that way.

One thing we tend to forget is that Satan isn’t afraid to come to church. While we are there to worship he is there to trip up those who feel cut off and separated. A lost sheep could very well be in our midst and we don’t even know it. There is nothing as lonely as feeling alone in a crowd. We all need connection and a sense of belonging. We all want to fit comfortably.

Take fellowship seriously, be sober, and be aware of others.

Romans 14:1 (ESV)

(Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another)

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.

Matthew 17:20 (ESV) He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

I have been tasked to understand the difference between weak faith and little faith. The issue of weak faith is spoken of only twice in Romans and little faith is spoken of more often. If frequency of use is any indication of importance then weak faith may be considered to be a small problem compared with little faith. Both should be understood appropriately.

In Romans 14 the context of weak faith is directed at how we use faith. It begins with verse one in assigning differences of opinions as a topic. The second verse is directed at the digestive process in how some who have moved on from the milk of the word to digest vegetables do not consider themselves able to digest meat. There is a hindrance in grow due to attitude.

Matthew 8:26 (ESV) And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

Matthew 14:31 (ESV) Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Little faith appears to address fear and doubt which in turn hinders performance. Only God performs miracles. Fear and doubt are in opposition to faith. If you do not believe that God will use you, then you will not try to use faith appropriately.

Weak faith hinders growth, little faith hinders performance.