One of my favorite things about John Wooden’s coaching was that he taught his players each year to put on their socks and tie their shoes properly. You’d think college-aged athletes could already do this, but Wooden took nothing for granted. He paid attention to the little things, which made the big things come more easily for his teams over the years.

Of course, Coach Wooden wanted to teach his players a lesson: If they were going to play in his program, they had to put aside what they wanted to do and follow his plans for the team. That discipline in the small things gave his teams great results, as they won 10 national championships and set an example for the rest of us how the little things make the biggest difference.

Sometimes, in walking with the Lord, we neglect what we might perceive as “the little things” because we get too busy. We forget that setting aside daily time with God in His Word, spending time in prayer, or serving our loved ones all help us learn to be faithful. But like the parable in Matthew’s Gospel teaches us, we can’t assume that we’ll be given many things until we’re first faithful with the few. These seemingly small steps make a huge difference in how we’ll handle bigger responsibilities.

To serve the Lord, we must put aside our own selfish desires and follow Christ in the little things. After all, Scripture says that Jesus gave up His position as God to endure life as a man: “[He] made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness . . . He humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:7-8, NIV). As a result of His willingness to serve faithfully, God exalted Him and gave Him the name above all names: Jesus!