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“One mosquito can keep me ‘awaker’ than a bad conscience.”  This humorous declaration by Canadian writer L. M. Montgomery may make us chuckle, but it’s also a very real reminder of one of summer’s least attractive qualities:  the presence, in every location and at every time, of innumerable biting insects.

I’m not talking about the lovely creatures of the summer nights—the cicadas, the crickets, the katydids.  I’m also not referencing the delicate butterflies, the glass-winged dragonflies, or the feathery moths.  No, my complaint is instead with those insects that (at least from my limited human perspective) seem entirely unnecessary. 

Perhaps you live in an area of the country where these insects are annoying, yet not overpowering.  Better still, perhaps you find yourself in the far north or in the mountainous regions, where they are a rarity even in the middle of the summer.  If so, I congratulate you (while also experiencing a tsunami of envy).  For me, in the middle of a sunburnt, humidity-soaked Arkansas summer, irritating bugs are not just present—they’re unstoppable.

There are the gnats, for one—tiny winged creatures that hover perpetually around one’s face and seem to have no other goal in life beyond entering the eyes, ears, and noses of human beings.  There are the ants—one grain of spilled sugar, even in the remotest corner of the kitchen, will summon an army of at least two hundred.  And there are the wasps—like fighter pilots, they dive-bomb my head as soon as I cautiously step out the back door.  But although the insects we see all around us can be irritating or downright painful, they’re not nearly as menacing as the ones we can’t see. 

These bloodthirsty bugs are too small to be seen with the naked eye, yet their destructive power rivals that of many much larger insects.  They cling to the tips of grass blades, just waiting for an unwary victim to brush through the vegetation.  Then, they burrow under the skin of their unwilling “host,” creating welts that blister, swell, and itch until the host loses all will to live and enters a state of temporary insanity that lasts for the duration of the itch.  (Trust me, it’s true.)  In Arkansas, we refer to these creatures by the entertaining yet terrifying name of “chiggers,” but other regions of the country have their own versions of these frightening foes.  In Florida, for example, the diminutive sandfly, which functions much like a chigger, is dubbed a “no-see-‘um” because, well…you don’t see ‘em.

Because I was cursed at birth (no, not really, but it’s as good an explanation as any), I seem to be remarkably attractive to these invisible vampires.  I can walk over the same territory with a group of friends, and they will emerge unscathed while I wake up the next morning writhing with half a hundred chigger bites clustered around my ankles.  I do my best to discourage them—using essential oils, developing a paranoia about grassy areas, even wearing long pants on hundred-degree days—but despite my best efforts, the chiggers keep coming.  In fact, from April through September (the duration of an Arkansas summer!), I have to be aware that a week of itching is the price to pay for walking across nearly any grassy area.  Most amazing of all, chiggers seem to be particularly attracted to me whenever I have important upcoming events, so I have fond memories of squirming at my music recital or staying awake the night before a big test scratching frantically.  

Perhaps you understand why I believe Genesis 3:17-18, in which God describes the curse that resulted from man’s sin, should have read this way:  “Cursed is the ground because of you…; thorns and thistles and chiggers it shall bring forth for you.”

It’s incredible, isn’t it?  An insect too small to see can cause a week of agony. 

Sometimes I imagine describing a chigger to someone completely unfamiliar with their biting power.  My concern would sound absurd, wouldn’t it?  It would seem ludicrous to cower in fear of such a tiny creature.  Perhaps that’s because we humans tend to dismiss the tiny things.  The small issues are too easy to sweep under the rug or stuff in a corner or brush from our minds entirely.  But often, those seemingly insignificant issues can prove to have the most devastating and destructive consequences. 

When we think of catastrophe, we think of big problems—things like a depressed family member, a bankruptcy file, a faltering friendship or a rebelling teen or a flailing marriage.  What we don’t realize, though, is that each of those massive issues started with tiny, but no less tragic, problems…problems that slowly swelled and grew until a mountain of misery was staring us in the face.

And that’s the frightening thing about tiny choices—the thing that makes them so devastating, so deadly.  They’re very difficult to see.

Think back to the facts about chiggers.  Supposedly, chiggers resemble bright-red spiders.  But they’re so microscopic that as much as I strain my eyes, I can’t see them.  If I could, wouldn’t they lose a great deal of their power?  If I could walk through a grassy patch and then immediately see scarlet chiggers dotting my legs, I’d brush them away before they had time to dig into my skin.  The chances of my ever being bitten would be extremely low.  But because I can’t see them—because I’m not aware of their presence—I can’t react until it’s too late.

Small choices carry the same danger.  They’re so easy to ignore, or even to overlook altogether.  And we don’t react until it’s too late.  Perhaps the husband and wife didn’t realize their bickering was that big of a deal—until the walls went up, the emotions shut down, and the divorce proceedings were underway.  And sure, the rebelling teen had started hanging out with some less-than-desirable friends, but his parents didn’t correct him, not until he was openly defying them and experimenting with drugs.  The credit card debt was easily manageable, but it was too tempting to keep postponing the payments, and suddenly bankruptcy was the only option. 

I’m reminded of a verse in Song of Solomon—an epic love poem written by the world’s wisest man, King Solomon.  The book is a collection of poetic tributes to his beloved, an enigmatic allegory about Christ’s love for His church, and a source of pithy gems of relationship wisdom.  One of these is found in Song of Solomon 2:15, where Solomon beseeches the couple’s friends to “catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom” (ESV).

At first, this seems like a strange request, a bizarre moment unrelated to the love story.  We might wonder if Solomon enjoyed hunting or kept a zoo or simply was asking for a weird wedding present!  Actually, though, this is a metaphor—somewhat like a miniature parable—drawing from a scenario that would have been relatable to anyone in Old Testament times.  The arid climate of Israel was very well suited for grapes, and vineyards were a popular source of livelihood for many.  One of the biggest pests for vineyard owners was foxes.  These seemingly innocent creatures would steal under the fences and gobble up the crop.  According to the commentary of the Life Application Study Bible, Solomon is using this as an analogy:  “The ‘little foxes’ are an example of the kinds of problems that can disturb or destroy a relationship….Often the ‘little foxes’ cause the biggest problems in marriage.  These irritations must not be minimized or ignored, but identified so that, together, the couple can deal with them.”

A little fox can spoil a vineyard, a little chigger can drive you mad, and a little issue can quickly snowball.  Consider the story of Rebekah, the wife of Abraham’s son Isaac.  Apparently both she and Isaac engaged in favoritism, highlighting different sons in a way that caused some excessive sibling rivalry and domestic discord.  However, fraternal squabbles led to a lifelong split in the family unit, with one son angry enough to kill the other, and the rift wasn’t mended for over twenty years!  Or how about the case of Saul?  His problem started in a small way, as a lack of security in his own abilities and a bit of envy over the growing popularity of his servant David.  However, Saul’s jealousy grew into a monster of animosity that led him to plot the death not only of David but also of his own son!  These are just a few examples of overwhelming disasters that began as tiny issues left unchecked—deceptively small problems with massive consequences.

And if we’re honest, we know issues such as these are present in all our lives.  If you come to Arkansas in the summer, you can prepare for an attack from chiggers.  But no matter where you live or how you spend your time or how much money you have or what kind of car you drive, you can never escape the spiritual “chiggers.”  In every life, friction is created by the small problems, the little issues that get between the wheels of living and sometimes make the going rough.  However, the good news is that we are not held captive by this fact.  God has given us a choice—a choice between dealing with these “little foxes” now, when they are small and easier to rout, or allowing them to grow until the fallout becomes too widespread to manage. 

“For who has despised the day of small things?”  This question, in Zechariah 4:10 (NASB), was an encouragement from God to the children of Israel, who were mourning their less-than-impressive attempt to rebuild the glorious Temple of Solomon.  However, this verse’s reminder that small beginnings grow into massive results is also an admonition to us to not ignore our “chiggers.”  Whether it’s a “little white lie,” a barely imperceptible shift in attitude, or a seemingly innocuous habit, small does not equal harmless. 

So, each summer when I begin to feel that familiar itching around my ankles, I marvel that a creature smaller than a grain of sand can create so much distress for me.  However, the power of chiggers lies in that seeming harmlessness.  Similarly, those supposedly insignificant problems in our daily lives can spawn the most devastating consequences.  That’s why it’s so important to examine ourselves for the presence of any spiritual “chiggers”—not only because they cause irritation now, but because the raw material of our choices today builds the future we inhabit tomorrow.

Did you enjoy this post? What are some ways you address “little” issues in your life? Let me know in the comments!