You are a Navy SEAL in training. The sun is not yet up, but you are pushed out of bed, ready to engage in grueling exercises designed to turn you into one of the most effective, lethal, and disciplined warriors in the world. But first…make you bed. This is the fact shared by former SEAL and now Navy Admiral William H. McRaven. As each SEAL starts their day, they must first have their bed inspected, and it better be perfect! The rationale? If you are going to be the best, you start with the little things. Do that well, and you can then move on to bigger things. In the book by the same title, McRaven concludes, “If you wanna change the world, start off by making your bed.”
No one is certain when September 11 became the unofficial “Make Your Bed” Day, but it stuck. Would it surprise you to know that Admiral McRaven was not the first to celebrate making your bed? In Luke 16, Jesus taught His disciples that we are each entrusted with capital, both physical and spiritual. We are to steward those resources wisely. The better you do with a little, the more you are given. It’s axiomatic. Jesus concluded by saying, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much” (Luke 16:10).
While not specific to making your
bed, the principle remains. How are you
doing with what you have been given? Are
you looking for the showy, the spectacular, the eye-catching? Would you like to make a dramatic difference
in your own life and the lives of those around you? In the world?
Start small. When no one is
looking, how do you behave? We all
struggle to rationalize or minimize the significance of the little
indiscretions, the peccadillos of life.
God is not sitting in judgment, waiting for us to fail in the small
things. He is looking for trustworthy
stewards, people who can shoulder bigger responsibilities in the Kingdom. Are you such a person? Are you ready? Here’s a good place to start: Make your bed.
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