Tensions were high, and lawsuits were threatened, all because of the noise of an industrial plant impacting a nearby residential neighborhood. My job was to solve the noise problem, which seemed daunting. The plant enclosed about 1.5 acres, and bristled with possible culprits: numerous ventilation fans, exhaust fans, process equipment, boilers, air-handling units, generators, motors and other equipment. Some operated constantly. Some intermittently. Some only on certain days or at certain times of day.
After listening to the residents’ descriptions about the specific character of the noises that disturbed them, I started investigating the noise sources at the plant. One by one, I measured the noise levels of as many individual and specific noise sources as I could. This fan made a whine. That process created a roar. That equipment droned constantly. This thing whistled when it operated on Saturday.
And slowly, I evaluated and developed recommendations to reduce each specific noise source at the plant. So, what seemed overwhelming at first, for both me and the plant operators, became more manageable when it was broken down into smaller pieces.
When the disciples freaked out about having to feed 5,000 men and an uncounted number of women and children (Matthew 14:13-21), they were focused on the seemingly insurmountable problem of how they were going to feed thousands of hungry people. Yet, Jesus forced them to think small, and not focus on the huge, paralyzing, cumulative problem.
Because Mark 6:41, Luke 9:16 and John 6:11 mention the five loaves of bread and two fish available getting distributed among the people, I’ve always had this image of each disciple walking among the groups with his own individual basket, and serving one person at a time. A person reaches in and pulls out food. And the food just miraculously keeps coming out of the basket as they move from person to person.
Could Jesus have waved His hand and instantly filled the bellies of everyone? Sure.
But thousands of people would remain just a faceless unknowable mass to the disciples. By having people served one by one, Jesus forced each disciple to discover what individuals made up the masses, to see the gratitude in each person’s face as their hunger was satisfied, and possibly make a brief but personal connection, until everyone had eaten their fill.
Tackling just one facet of a larger problem, or helping one person at a time, makes the cumulative issue more manageable and more controllable, which will improve our chances of success.
How impactful could our lives be if instead of being overwhelmed by how big a problem was in our community, nationally or world-wide, we fed one hungry person or family, mentored one student, encouraged one downtrodden person, visited one individual in the hospital, or comforted one hurting person?