One of my favorite things about John Wooden’s coaching was that he taught his players each year to put on their socks and tie their shoes properly. You’d think college-age athletes could already do this, but Wooden took nothing for granted. He paid attention to the little things which made the big things come easier for his teams over the years.

Of course, Coach Wooden wanted to teach his players a lesson: if they were going to play in his program, they had to put aside what they wanted to do and follow his plans for the team. That discipline in the small things gave his teams great results, winning ten national championships and setting an example for us of the fact that little things make the biggest difference.

Sometimes in our walk with the Lord, we neglect what we might perceive as “the little things” because we get too busy. We forget that daily time with God in His Word, prayer, and serving others all help us learn to be faithful. However, as we learn from the parable in Matthew’s Gospel, we can’t assume we’ll be given many things until we’re first faithful with the few. These seemingly small steps make a huge difference in how we’ll handle bigger responsibilities.

To serve the Lord, we must put aside our own selfish desires and follow Christ in the little things. After all, He gave up His position as God to endure life as a man. Scripture says, “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross” (Php 2:8). As a result of His willingness to serve faithfully, God exalted Him and gave Him the name above all names.