Lesson: Being faithful and responsible with what we have and how we conduct ourselves seem to be values of the past when we examine our society today. We waste more but we want more. We complain more but we do less. We want better but we don’t take care of what we have. It seems as though so many of us are blindly working against ourselves in the pursuit of a better life.

This is a life lesson that is short but sweet, a lesson that has been implanted into my psyche for a very long time. “Don’t ask for more if you aren’t taking care of what you have now.” It’s a simple concept that so many of us miss. We can’t think we have the right to the promotion if we aren’t responsible with the job we have in front of us. Why do we think we can cut corners, do the bare minimum and then get offered the promotion? If we can’t be responsible and manage the money that we currently have in our bank accounts, why do we think we could manage the million dollars we are dreaming of? If we can’t take care of the small apartment that we have, then why do we think we should be blessed with the mansion we are dreaming of? It just doesn’t work that way. The reality is, if we’ll recklessly spend $500 then we’ll recklessly spend $5,000 or more. If we keep a junky, nasty apartment, then we’ll keep a junky, nasty mansion. Our circumstances don’t change our habits or way of doing things.

As a young adult, I came across a scripture (Luke 16:10) that really brought light to this lesson for me, “He who is faithful in a very little [thing] is faithful also in much, and he who is dishonest and unjust in a very little [thing] is dishonest and unjust also in much.” Being faithful is equivalent to being responsible. If we can’t take care of what we have right now in front of us, who are we to ask for more? If we can’t be trusted to do the right thing when no one is looking, why do we think we can be trusted with the spotlight on us?

This was a very critical life lesson for me. It is a lesson that is constantly in the forefront of my mind and a lesson that I really want to be in the forefront of the minds of my children. It’s so fundamentally important, but many of us can’t move forward in life because we don’t have an understanding of this principle. Well, I don’t want to be stagnant because I’m not being faithful, how about you?

Application: Take a close and honest look at yourself. Are you what is holding you back from moving forward or having more because you aren’t being faithful right where you are? If so, identify the areas that need improvement and make a plan to start today.