Graduation ceremonies will be happening this month across the state. From high school to college to vocational tech to post-graduate students—the “Class of 2026” will be rightly honored and recognized for
their achievements.

A time-honored part of this rite of passage includes commencement addresses, which are words to be inspired by and live by.

The greatest commencement speech ever has to be the words of Sir Winston Churchill. He was expected to give a long-winded speech, and instead he got up—looked over those graduates and said simply, “Never give up. Never. Never.”

Several years ago, in another noteworthy commencement address, United States Navy Admiral William H. McRaven spoke at a collegiate ceremony and offered the simple advice, “Make your bed.”

McRaven’s speech was meant to emphasize the importance of doing the seemingly little things on the way to success. His advice also has spiritual application for us.

Whether or not you believe making your bed each morning is important, the idea that small habits lead to larger ones rings true. “Habits lead to character, and character leads to destiny,” as the saying goes.

The daily walk with Christ includes seemingly small and simple acts.

  • Read your Bible and pray.
  • Go to church and be active in church.
  • Tell others about Jesus often. Show Christ’s love with action and deeds.

Yet every day we have things that compete for attention and energy to do these.

  • Instead of reading our Bible at the beginning or end of the day, we “doomscroll” on our smartphones.
  • Instead of praying, we sit around worrying.
  • Instead of telling people about Jesus, we only tell them our opinion on the latest news headlines or celebrity entertainment news.

What if, instead of these small acts that do not particularly work to move us closer to the Lord, we did small acts that led us toward Him?

Each day, the Lord gives us an opportunity to act or not act in these simple ways. Taken together, they become the summation of the strength or weakness of our walk with Christ.

Jesus said, “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater.” (Luke 16:10).

This May, as we seek to encourage the Class of 2026, let’s all encourage each other in our walk with Christ. Let’s stay committed to Him and to the local church. In the end, that would be the best kind of graduation advice we could all receive.