Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.
There has been lots of talk about striving in Christian culture over the past several years. Typically, folks are talking about striving for the favor, acceptance, or grace of God. Most of us who follow Christ get it, we don’t strive for the love of God, we strive from it. We live in a culture that at times celebrates effort as much as it does accomplishment. I get it, but at the heart of every leader there is a discontentment with the average, mundane, the “good enough” mentality.
When I think about the topic of excellence, I think about Daniel. Scripture says this about Daniel: “Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.” -1 Daniel 6: 3
This excellent spirit that Daniel possessed provided a way for him to have incredible influence. If leadership is about influence, then pursuing excellence must become a non-negotiable!
Excellence is My Very Best Excellence is the doing the very best with what we have. It is measured by the resources we have: our time, money and energy. So excellence is scalable based upon the resources a person has. Excellence is simply the very best that I can bring. It’s not about being the best, it’s about bringing MY best. It’s not about my desire or my intention, it’s my willingness to give my all and empty myself for the task at hand.
Excellence is a Journey Some confuse excellence with perfectionism. I would say that perfectionism is a discontent state pursuing flawlessness, where as excellence is a continual progression of getting better. Perfectionism is a destination, while excellence is a journey. When I came to Christ in 1993, I was already leading at a certain capacity, but something happened that made me want to be the very best at what I did. Looking back, a lot of what I did would not be excellent by today’s standards but it was excellence then because it was the best I had. My best today is better than it was over twenty years ago because excellence is progressive.
Excellence is a Conviction I have had people over the years give me a hard time, and even make fun of me, for being so driven towards excellence. My response is normally the same. “I am doing this for God, and He deserves my best.” This conviction starts at the heart. I want to give God the very best. As a leader, I want to offer the people I serve the very best. As people devoted to Christ we must embrace the spirit of excellence because everything we do is as unto the Lord.
Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV) 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
