Taking Pride in the Small Stuff

We all dream of accomplishing great things, but how often do we consider the dramatic importance of all the small things along the way? 

I encountered a perfect example of this while reading a book by Ted Cruz, the presidential hopeful, called “A Time for Truth.” The senator’s wife, Heidi, was shocked when she left Wall Street for an important job in Washington and received her first big assignment: go pick up some grapefruit juice. It felt beneath her, but she got the job done.  Soon she had earned enough trust to be creating plans to bring down national debt – along with picking up the usual grapefruit juice, of course.

I learned this very same lesson while working for a University president right after college.  I dreamed of all the important work I would be doing – until I arrived and found myself making copies and slicing open somebody else’s mail for hours on end.  It was a little underwhelming, to be sure, but doing these little jobs with excellence would later open the door for me to work on major projects related to enrollment and accreditation, along with being allowed to teach courses at the college level.

The same principle applies to our spiritual walk. As Luke 16:10 reminds us, “he who is faithful in small things will be faithful also in much.” We all want to change the world, but God is just as concerned with our shining bright and doing our best in all the small, monotonous, seemingly insignificant tasks we find along the way.

Do you continually find yourself surrounded with small chores to do?  Take heart and give it all you’ve got – because you see, it’s the small stuff that paves the way to greatness.