Excellence

8-6-2009

I am in the middle of coaching my 16u Dallas Patriots team in the Mickey Mantle World Series right now, so the quest for excellence is certainly at the top of our priority list. As I thought about the mindset of the kids during this incredible time in their careers, I thought about the “quest for excellence” mindset we should always have. Why don’t we strive for excellence all of the time in all that we do? If you’re going to do something, do it right or why do it! Although we are studying the book of Matthew, and we took a break yesterday, I read a devotional that I feel we could all benefit from, so here goes. This devotional is by Boyd Bailey, and it’s awesome!

Embrace Excellence… “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48

We admire excellence in others. Professional athletes, attorneys, speakers, teachers, coaches, custodians, mothers, fathers, leaders, elected officials and business men and women who excel and motivate others to excel. Their commitment to thousands of hours in focused training and competition makes their flawless performance look easy. It is their obsession with perfection that leads them to excellence. In Christ, perfection is our position. Outside of Christ no one is perfect, but inside of Christ everyone is perfect. We are perfect because He is perfect. “So that we may present everyone perfect in Christ” (Colossians 1:28b). The challenge is we still live in a sinful world with sinful people and therefore perfection is diluted. Nonetheless, Jesus commanded His children to be perfect on the level of their heavenly Father. So as we seek perfection in this life, we see glimpses of glory and we do capture excellence in the process. What does excellence look like from the eyes of the eternal? Paul a protagonist of perfection describes our dilemma, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14). People with an eternal perspective promote perfection. Therefore, embrace excellence as a core value in your life and work. Because you represent the Lord Jesus, be an excellent example of a Christian. Be it ministry or business, your vocation is a vicarious look at our Lord. Talk about Jesus from a platform of perfection and people will stop to listen. Excellence is your entrée into promoting a loving relationship with God. Do I settle for mediocrity, or do I aspire to excellence? Are others attracted to the quality of my character, competence and family?

Application:
1. Are you striving for excellence in all you do (work, marriage, etc.)?
2. Are you doing an excellent job at serving Christ?