I read a meaningful quote by C.S. Lewis: “Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different than it was before.” Could this be true even with the smaller day-to-day decisions?
He went on to say, “Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible.”1
I’m getting the idea. Kindness begets kindness. It creates a ripple effect. I notice that when I go a bit out of my way to show interest in others, it gets easier, as if I am strengthening a muscle. It used to be difficult for me to strike up conversations with strangers, but now I really enjoy the friendly chats I have when I go out, and many have turned into deeper conversations, and friendships have been forged.
On the contrary, every time I am impatient with my husband, I am opening the way for disunity and distrust to enter my marriage. How many marriages begin to go sour from insults and arguments that went unchecked?
When I was a child, I didn’t worry much about telling little fibs here and there. “It wasn’t me! I don’t know who broke that.” That kind of stuff. By my teenage years, however, I was a habitual liar, straight-faced and bold in my fabricated stories and with no qualms whatsoever. It took me years to get rid of that habit as it had become a part of my very nature.
So, maybe it’s not what clothes I choose to wear today or the dinner menu tonight that matters, but yes, there are small decisions that little by little will decide my future and even my character. Will I become more self-centered or Christ-centered?
As I get older, will I have the peace and contentment of a life well lived?—Maybe not a life with outstanding accomplishments and mighty deeds, but one built on the many small decisions I made to love God first and to serve my fellowman? If so, I will be happy.
- “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis ↑