Conscience In Little Things



He that is careful in little things rises every day a step higher
Scrupulous people are often laughed at for their scruples. "Why be so particular?" gay and giddy ones ask. "Why be so conscientious about mere trifles? Why be so exacting and punctilious in the doing of small duties?" The answer is that in the matter of right and wrong nothing is little; certainly nothing is insignificant. Duty is duty, whether it be the smallest or the greatest matter. He is on the highway to nobleness of character who has learned to be scrupulous concerning the smallest things. He that is careful in little things rises every day a step higher. He who is faithful in little things is then intrusted with larger responsibilities. It is the units in life that are most important. Look after the little units and the greater aggregates will be right. Make the minutes beautiful and the hours and days will be radiant.

"Trifles make perfection," replied the artist to one who asked him why he spent so much time in giving the little finishing-touches to his statue. There can be no perfection in any kind of workmanship unless attention be paid to the minutest details, the merest trifles of construction or finishing. One smallest flaw or incompleteness left in the work, in any part of it, leaves a blemish on the finished endeavour. Life is a mosaic and each smallest stone must be polished and set with greatest care or the piece will not at last be perfect. One whose daily life is careless is always weak in character. But one who habitually walks in right paths, no matter how small and apparently trifling the things may be, grows strong and noble. Trifles make perfection.

Matthew 5:48: Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (KJV)
Matthew 23:23: Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. (KJV)
Luke 16:10-12: He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? (KJV)
James 2:10: For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. (KJV)


[Back To In Green Pastures Index]
1