I was on the phone a couple days ago with a wise old friend. We were talking about the kind of crazy year 2020 has been when he said to me, “Do you know what I have learned during this time, Todd? Your day is what you make it.” That is worth thinking about a bit.

With that thought, I offer you this quote from Michael Ramsey, the esteemed Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England, from 1961 to 1974.

“When men do what is right in the particular circumstance, in the task at hand, in the details of what lies immediately before them, they may be building greater than they can ever know. It is not given to most men to see great visions, or to construct grand concepts. But it is given to every man and woman to make decisions about matters immediately at hand, putting what is right before what is capricious, putting divine law before human wilfulness.

When that happens, God in his good providence gathers up our little actions of the moment, and uses them in his design down the ages. Did not Christ say that he who is faithful in little shall have great riches? The riches may be incalculable results in later times.”

Jewish sage Jesus ben Sira wrote, around 200BC, “Conduct your affairs in humility…. what is committed to you, attend to…. work at your tasks in due season – and in his own time God will give you your reward” (3:17,22;  51:30). The first three phrases are wisdom in and of themselves. The last part about God’s reward is icing on the cake.