Do you read the credits that are shown at the end of a movie? Most people don’t. And sometimes the words are so small and they scroll by so fast you couldn’t read them if you wanted to! At the beginning of every movie, sometimes even before the title is given, larger credits are displayed announcing the actors who are playing the lead roles, as well as the directors and producers. These are the important people! But those in a lesser role and those who work behind the scenes are acknowledged at the end. People don’t care too much about them, and yet, without them there would be no film. A lesser role is not an unimportant role.

A well-known phrase in the acting world declares “There are no small roles, only small actors.” It emphasizes the importance of every role in a play or film. No matter the size of the role, an actor needs to perform it with dedication and diligence. The seemingly insignificant can have great impact. This is true in life as well.

When Jonathan Groff, an actor on Broadway, accepted his Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, among the people he acknowledged and thanked was his seventh grade teacher! She was the one who first saw his potential and encouraged him to try out not just for his school’s productions but also for roles in their local theater. What an impact this woman who was simply a teacher had on his life!

Ordinary people have greater influence than we often realize. Consider this quote, which is the last sentence in the book Middlemarch by George Elliot.

…the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.

I have often wondered about Andrew. Andrew was one of Jesus’ disciples. He was also Peter’s brother. In fact, it was Andrew who told Peter about Jesus. But it was Peter who became part of the inner circle that stayed close to Jesus. Not Andrew. It was Peter who was commissioned to lead the church. Not Andrew. It was Peter who preached in the book of Acts and authored two of the epistles. Not Andrew. Andrew had a lesser role. But if it wasn’t for Andrew, where would Peter be?

Back in the 1930’s, an evangelist named Mordecai Ham held meetings in Charlotte, NC. A farmer in the area loaded up his truck with neighbors every evening and transported them to the services. One of those neighbors was a teenage boy who heard the sermons and finally responded to the message. That boy was Billy Graham. We might credit the evangelist with the impact he had on Billy’s life as well as all those lives that Billy Graham reached with the Gospel. But what if there had not been the farmer?

The day will come when Jesus will give the rewards, and He makes no mistakes, although some people may wonder how you came to merit such a reward, as they had never heard of you before. –Streams in the Desert

Sometimes we feel overshadowed by people more important than us. We feel small and inadequate and surrounded by those who are bigger and better than us. But our contribution to this world and to those around us is not measured by fame and wealth, or leadership and personality. God has a different standard and a more accurate perspective than we do. Jesus made this clear when he admonished his disciples by telling them, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35) We need to remember it’s not about recognition nor is it even about a heavenly reward. It’s about being all we are meant to be, doing whatever we can, shining our light in whatever role God has placed us–even if we think it’s a lesser role!

…God has put each part just where He wants it… In fact, some parts…that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. –1 Corinthians 12:18,22 (NLT)

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