Little Goodnesses

And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
   (Matthew 25:40 ESV) 

I wonder if one of the chief roots of the modern problem of meaninglessness is not, say, lack of self-esteem or weariness of pain but pride. We believe it is our calling to create the greater good, to save the world. But isn't that God's arena? We are not gods, though I seem to recall reading about a mischievous serpent who promised us that we could be. And occasionally we perceive our non-divinity and despair. "My life is meaningless because I can't do anything worthwhile." The problem here seems not to be our inability to do things of worth but our failure to appreciate what is of worth for us to do.

Our calling is a humbler one than what we have so arrogantly assumed: it is to be faithful in the little things, to establish the lesser good, to perform the good deeds that are before us. A bottle of water for a thirsty gardener, a helping hand for an ailing old timer, a nod and a smile for a fellow grocery shopper, a dollar bill for a bell ringer, a listening ear for a grieving friend, a skipped meal, a missed episode, a simple prayer instead of an aspiration to a grand one. Little stuff. EASY stuff.

(Inspired by http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/58168.htm)