Less is More

The story of Gideon demonstrates a beautiful picture of God’s heart and motives. We need to pay careful attention to the words of the Lord mentioned in this story. As humans, we tend to look at numbers as a gauge of success and power. In our society, significance is determined by how much money we make, how many employees we have working for us, how well we are known in the public eye, etc. We validate one another by the things that we have and achieve.
I was in London this past week at the time of the Royal Ascot horse races. It was an event for those in high society. Only the most elite people of England were able to attend this event and it was a mark of status to be seen at the Royal Ascot races. The men were required to wear tuxedos with tails and top hats, while the women wore formal dresses with fancy hats. There was entire day devoted to the fashions that were worn, as the men and women paraded around having their pictures taken, much like we do for the Academy awards here in the United States. Of course, the most beautiful dresses and hats were recognized and there was much attention given to those with the highest status. As I watched this event on T.V., I was reminded that the Lord is not impressed at all with the things that we humans think are important.
One of my favorite children’s books is called “You are Special” by Max Lucado. In the book, there was a town full of wooden puppets called the Wemmicks. Each Wemmick had a box of golden stars and a box of gray dot stickers. All day long, the Wemmicks gave stickers of stars and dots to each other. The pretty ones with smooth wood and fine paint received stars, but if the wood was rough and the paint was chipped, the Wemmicks gave dots. The talented ones got stars too. Others, who could do little received dots. Some Wemmicks had stars all over them. Punchinello was a Wemmick who did not have stars, but dots all over him. He was neither the prettiest nor the most talented Wemmick. He had scratches and bumps all over him. After a while, he had received so many dots that he was afraid to go outside. The Wemmicks with stars made Punchinello feel badly about himself, until one day he met Lucia. She had no stars or dots on her body. She told Punchinello that they fell off of her whenever anyone put a star or sticker on her. She did not want anyone’s marks. Punchinello wanted to know her secret and she told him that her stickers didn’t stick because she spent time with Eli, the Woodcarver. Punchinello went to visit Eli and Eli told him how special he was; that stars and dots didn’t matter. What mattered was what Eli thought of Punchinello, because Eli created Punchinello and in Eli’s eyes, Punchinello was special and beautiful to him. Eli told Punchinello that the stickers stuck only if they mattered to him. Eli said, “The more you trust my love, the less you care about their stickers.” Eli reminded Punchinello to come spend time with him every day so that he could let Punchinello know just how much he cared. He said, “You are special because I made you, and I don’t make mistakes.” Punchinello began to believe Eli, and as he did, a dot fell to the ground. Punchinello discovered that the less stars and dots he had on his body, the more he had grown to believe his creator.

God continues to use the story of Gideon to teach us that man’s strength and status mean nothing to Him, but only His power and might will be everlasting. The Midianite army was so huge, the men could not be counted, but the Lord used Gideon’s army of 300 men to defeat them. Gideon spent time with his Creator, as Punchinello had done, and he knew and discerned the truth about the battle he was about to face. When Gideon had twenty-two thousand men, the Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’.” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained. (Judges 7: 2-3) According to the Lord, ten thousand men were still too many. Gideon was left with 300 men. Rather than looking at the Midianite army and all of their “stars”, Gideon focused on the words of the Lord, “I will deliver them into your hands.” Miraculously, Gideon’s army, probably covered with “dots” defeated the Midianites. It was the word of the Lord that prevailed. Let us not forget, in our society of “stickers of stars and dots”, that less is often “more” when God is involved. May we not boast about our own strength, but boast in the power of the Lord Almighty.