Be excellent ∙∙
God has given us everything we need to live a godly life through his divine power. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself using his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. – 2 Peter 1:3-4
Philippians 1:6-10
6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
7 So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart . . ..
8 God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.
9 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.
10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.
What is excellence? Excellence is a distinctive talent or quality that is exceptionally good and exceeds ordinary standards. “Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way” (Booker T. Washington).
“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well” (Martin Luther King Jr.).
When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are adopted by the Father into His Forever Family. Regardless of our past, we are forgiven and cleansed. We embark on a new life journey, striving to know our new Father and endeavoring to please and honor Him with our lives.
As children of the King, it is our highest calling to strive for excellence in all that we do. This is because our Father, the King, exemplifies excellence in every aspect of His being and actions. His very essence and character are defined by excellence. The pursuit of excellence should be the standard for us, His children.
Psalms 150:2 Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
We are to praise Him according to His excellent greatness (Psalms 150:2). His excellent greatness is the why of our praise and worship. The phrase excellent greatness could be translated as unequaled greatness, surpassing greatness, or absolute greatness. No one is so magnificent, so wonderful as the Father (John G. Butler)
The Hebrew word translated as excellent is rov. It means plentiful, abundant, much, many, great. It is a term of superlative magnitude. Our motivation as children of the King is to follow after HHHHim and aspire to superlative excellence.
The Father is unwavering in finishing what he starts. When we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, the Father commences the process of sanctification. Our goal should be nothing short of superlative excellence, as mediocrity is not an acceptable standard.
REFLECT & PRAY
The Father graciously sets us on a fresh journey. Our past mistakes no longer burden us. Instead, we are encouraged to anticipate the good we will do in the future. The Father has initiated a good work in us, and He will continue it from now on.
Father, I aspire to establish new objectives. I don’t want to merely scrape by. My ambition is to achieve excellence. I recognize my knowledge is like that of a small child, partial and incomplete. Please encourage and empower me to grow up and develop broad, in-depth, mature knowledge and discernment that come only from You.
INSIGHT
How do we achieve excellence? In the words of Aristotle, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.” Habits are not inherited; instead, they are developed and nurtured over time.
There are essential habits that can help us get there. These habits are common among those who achieve excellence.
Have a goal or vision to fulfill
They have a clearly defined endgame in mind. Without an end goal, they could not achieve it.
Identify what you love
When we do what we love, we have deep energy reserves to tap into daily. The hunger to excel is heightened when you do something you love.
Work harder than anyone else
Extra effort builds discipline and resilience, valuable traits for both work and personal life. It develops persistence, helping you overcome challenges and stay focused on your goals.
Make use of every moment
Every moment counts; therefore, they deploy effective time management strategies.
Work to attain desired results
The only real limit they face is themselves.
Relentlessly upgrade and improve yourself
There is always something that can be improved and done better. Learning never stops.
People who strive for excellence continuously read and learn. They expose themselves to new knowledge, perspectives, ideas, people, skills, and contexts.
Continually ask for feedback and critiques
Blind spots lurk within each of us. We cannot improve what we are unaware of.
Strive to be the best at what you do.
They try to provide the best value and quality possible. Aiming to just get by is not enough.
In your pursuit of excellence, regularly assess your progress by objectively performing self-checks. Be ready to start over when necessary and acquire the knowledge and insight you need.
“We will chase perfection, and we will chase it relentlessly, knowing all the while we can never attain it. But along the way, we shall catch excellence” (Vince Lombardi).
Time to get to work.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 7-29-1
© Dr. H 2024
Dr H Reflections 