Consider the Ant: Why Daily Faithfulness Matters

We want to highlight a great article from the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics. It is a Christian research organization committed to advancing biblical and economic principles that help individuals find fulfillment in their work and contribute to a free and flourishing society.

— by Hugh Whelchel

Over 20 years ago, I heard a speaker named Jeff Olson give a talk on something he called “the Slight Edge.” The idea resonated with me, and ever since then it has had a significant influence on my life. I have come to realize it is a basic biblical principle woven into the fabric of creation.  Like gravity, it works if you believe it or not.

The Slow Takeover of the Water Hyacinth

Olson started his lecture with the story about a plant found everywhere in South Florida called the water hyacinth. These plants which float on the water’s surface with beautiful, six-petaled flowers are native to the Amazon River in Brazil and were originally brought into Florida as ornaments in the late 1800s. Today, they have spread throughout the state (and other parts of the South) and become somewhat of a nuisance.

The water hyacinth is one of the most productive plants on earth; its reproductive rate even astonishes botanists. Put one plant into a pond, watch it for a month, and you will be surprised by what you see. After two weeks, it will have covered about one square foot of the pond surface and be hardly noticeable.

By day 20, it will have expanded to the size of a small mattress. However, by the 29th day, it will have covered half the pond. By day 30, the hyacinths will have covered the entire surface of the water.

Doing the Small Things Over Time

According to Olson, a daily application of the Slight Edge philosophy was like the water hyacinth. Success, he suggested, was not achieved by a quick fix, quantum-leap method offered by our fast food culture. Instead, success comes by doing the small things we know to do over time.

The good news is that these small things are easy to do; the challenge is that when doing them it doesn’t initially seem like we are making much progress. But if we continue over time, the cumulative effect will generate significant results.

If this is true, why are so many people unable to reach their goals in life? It is simply because the things that are easy to do are also easy not to do.

Olson writes in his book, The Slight Edge:

The truth is, what you do matters. What you do matters today. What you do every day matters. Successful people just do the things that seem to make no difference in the act of doing them, and they do them over and over and over until the compound effect kicks in.

Continue reading the article on the TIFWE website here...

——

[Credit to Centerforfaithandwork.com for the cover photo]