Bottom line up front: “The difference between something good and something great is attention to detail.”

Teaching: In the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7), Jesus taught many principles about what authenticity looks like. He didn’t just brief the slides; He lived the slides, if you will. Jesus said to his hearers: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Mt 5:17-18).

In v. 18 above, we see that attention to detail is a principle of excellence. As we soldiers engage in MDMP, as we scrub slides from our respective lanes, etc. this principle of attention to detail is crucial. Attention to detail. Why’s it crucial? Because war is inevitable in this fallen world. Conflict is just part of the way things are. And as soldiers, we’re the ones who’ve sworn to engage our enemies and emerge victorious. But that victory won’t come if we’re not meticulous in our attention to detail. In biblical language, that’s one of the principles Christ addressed in the Sermon on the Mount about who He was/is. Not an iota, not a dot was neglected. Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet and has the long “ee” sound. And that’s why Jesus used that metaphor. It’s come down into our language and parlance to mean “a very small amount/point of detail.” In other words, details matter. Profoundly.

Encouragement: The founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, remarked that “Details matter. It’s worth waiting to get it right.” But in our lane, we don’t get the opportunity to wait. We have to execute and with excellence. That’s why attention to detail in our daily regimen is vital. Very often the difference between success and failure hinges on the legwork we do in countless, consistent, repetitive, unsexy ways. But it’s that meticulous grind for excellence via attention to detail that positions us to lead the formation with excellence.