Wisdom Wednesday #1

C.S. Lewis on character

A quick note on a new thing I’m going to try here - Wisdom Wednesday.

I will still be sending out the normal newsletter twice a month, but I thought it might be good to also send out short quotes from wise thinkers, past and present, with a very brief reflection. They provide the wisdom, I provide the reflection. I’ll do this at least a couple of times a month. Hopefully you’ll find it helpful!

Here’s the first edition of Wisdom Wednesday, reflecting briefly on a quote from C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity:

Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little 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.

My first thought is that this is true, as is often the case with Lewis. Those little choices we make that seem insignificant, and in many ways are, may nevertheless carry great future significance for our character. That little selfish act may harden our hearts. That little unselfish act today could help till the soil of our hearts for a great act of unselfish love in a few months or years.

My second thought is that I am thankful for grace, because we all make little decisions that undermine our growth, but God still works. We still grow as we depend on God, amidst all of our shortcomings and sin.

My final thought is that in the midst of such grace we should be more aware of how the small decisions we make either reinforce prideful self-centeredness or humility and the fruit of the Spirit — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We should be careful to do the small things not only because they help lead to larger victories, as Lewis points out, but also because the small things matter to God. And they make up most of the substance of daily life with friends, family, co-workers, and the others we cross paths with each day.