Sometimes it seems that we Christians are afraid of embracing excellence. As if somehow doing amazing things, and doing them well, was something God wanted us to avoid. Now it’s possible striving for excellece can get you in trouble. For instance, a pursuit of excellence, for the sake of excellence, is a bad idea. It can lead to pride, dishonesty, and being a jerk.
But does that mean excellence itself is bad?
It seems to me the issue isn’t with excellence verses mediocrity, but instead it’s about what role each person (and church) should play. I can’t think of a place in the Bible where God said to someone, “that’s okay, just be average. Or, you’re too busy; just mail it in this week.”
We are all flawed, and can’t be brilliant at everything. But God still calls us to be extraordinary and to be different, and he calls us to be excellent in what we do. Of course we (obviously) don’t all have the same calling. God may not want every church to have brilliant theological messages. Maybe he just wants them to care for the neighborhood, or to help the sick and dying. After all, excellence is defined as more than giving a good speech. Similarly God doesn’t necessarily want everyone to spend all of our time in nursing homes and hospitals. Sometimes he just wants us to live out lives of grace and love at our jobs.
God understands you aren’t perfect, and he’s not waiting until you become perfect before he will use you. God meets us where we are, not where we ultimately will be. So if you feel God asking you to do something, go for it! But don’t do it half heartedly.
