Trusted With The Small Things

Trusted with the Small Things

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin. Zechariah 4:10

When I was a teenager, my parents let me stay out pretty late playing basketball with my friends. But that didn’t happen right away. I had to earn the privilege by demonstrating that I could be trusted. They watched me closely at first—I couldn’t be out at midnight when I was thirteen, of course. But over time, they gave me more and more freedom, and by the time I was seventeen, they knew I was always where I said I would be and wasn’t getting into trouble. They had watched me grow and had given me enough opportunities to test my character that they knew they could trust me.

Over the course of a season, a football player’s character is challenged many times and from many different angles. Does he work hard? Take shortcuts and make compromises to get by? Show accountability to teammates? Know how to handle adversity? Know how to handle success?

A man has plenty of opportunities during a season to prove he knows how to do the right thing even when the right thing is hard. But no one just happens to have character. It’s built into us by a long process. My parents gradually increased my freedom as I demonstrated responsibility because they understood that character begins with the little things in life.

That doesn’t apply only to kids playing basketball or grown men on a football field. It applies to all of us in our relationships with God and with each other. Over time, we have a hand in shaping ourselves and building our character through the little acts we do. Character is developed by facing decisions—at first little ones, then larger and larger ones—and choosing what’s right until it becomes second nature. It’s tried and tested through many circumstances and the most challenging times. We have to know what is right, and we have to choose to do it. That not only strengthens our own character, but also builds trust with others. If we begin to develop character in the little things today, we will be known for our character even in larger things tomorrow.

Uncommon Key > So many small things make up your character—your words, your thoughts, your actions—which help form how you instinctively respond to every situation. Don’t let the small things slip. Start each day by looking for ways to show character.