The longer I live, the more I realize that a big situation is quite frequently affected by all the smaller ones that went into it.
A few negative examples: A building decays a little at a time, with a crack here, a loose brick there, a tree root slowly working it’s way into the foundation, critters moving in through little holes hither and thither, the weather wearing at it. Feeling stressed can come from having too many little things piled up, even if each thing alone isn’t stressful. Having a messy desk, room, or house can happen little by little – a few pieces of stray mail here, a couple socks there, a bit of just brushing things to another corner for later. The backslidden Christian doesn’t usually get there overnight, compromising one little thing at a time until they no longer value what is really important.
A few positive examples: A good house is made by measuring twice before you even start cutting, making the foundation sure, nailing one stud at a time, double-checking to be sure pipes and wires are properly set, placing brick by brick. A healthy, long marriage is built on the husband and wife each doing small things each day that say, “I love you,” by doing little things each day that hold them faithful and close to each other. Getting fitter requires you to put forth at least a little effort regularly – doing 20 push-ups on occasion won’t get you what doing 10 push-ups every other day will. A Christian having strong faith is done little by little, one God-revealed step at a time, even when we have no idea what God is doing. A Christian becoming more like Jesus is a process of small steps, one piece at a time, chipping away at our sinful flaws while building up God’s goodness within us.
When you take care of the small things in life, they build up to greater things. When you neglect the small things, they cause great collapse.
If you won’t regularly do the right thing when there is hardly any pressure against you, you certainly won’t do it when the pressure is harsh. If you will regularly do the right thing when there is a little pressure against you, you will do it when the pressure is harsh.
For more: Be Faithful in the Small Things