This might be my shortest article, and that’s precisely the point.
I could make this brief because it’s easy. But would I actually accomplish anything meaningful, or would I just trick myself into feeling productive? There’s a massive difference between taking appropriately sized steps toward your destination and settling for anthill accomplishments while Everest remains unconquered.
Speaking of ants, the author of the book of Proverbs holds no bars and pulls no punches when writing about the lessons from the ants’ work ethic towards purposeful progress:
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
11 and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.Proverbs 6:6-11 (ESV)
We love small and easy because it feels like progress without demanding much from us. We reorganise our desks instead of tackling that difficult conversation. We research productivity apps instead of actually producing. We plan to plan instead of executing.
Don’t get me wrong – progress is progress. But small steps must be strategic steps. They should accumulate toward something significant, not substitute for the hard work that meaningful achievements require.
Ask yourself: Are your small actions building momentum toward the actual goals God has given you to work towards, or are they just elaborate procrastination disguised as productivity? Are you taking ant-sized steps up the mountain or running laps around the base camp?
The goal isn’t to avoid small tasks – it’s to ensure they serve your larger purpose. Sometimes the smallest step is actually the hardest one: admitting that you’ve been busy instead of effective.
Make your small steps count. Make them matter. Make them lead somewhere worthy of the journey.
