I read something recently that got me thinking: Giving up some of the things we enjoy or desire can seem like a sacrifice, but when we get to Heaven and see things in proper perspective we’ll be ashamed that we didn’t make those little sacrifices more cheerfully.

Even now I feel bad, remembering little jobs I weaseled out of, arguments that I had to have the last word in, times I was sure to get the biggest piece of the pie. I’m beginning to see how temporary those things were and that the things that have really counted were the times I gave up a few minutes of my downtime to help someone out, the times I let a mean comment pass without answering back, the times I helped someone save face, and the times I saved that biggest piece of pie for someone else—in short, the times I gave when I could have taken or when I made the day a little better for someone. It doesn’t seem like such a sacrifice anymore, giving up these inconsequential things, when I consider that I’m investing in forever. ■