You Don't Need to Pursue Excellence

"You don't need to pursue excellence."

No one will tell you this directly, but this is what our culture and often those around us preach. We lift our noses at honors students in high school. We make disparaging "complimentary" remarks at those mothers who have it all together. We do
it to ourselves, too. We hit the snooze button and cut classes. We settle for lesser grades, lesser results, lesser self-appearance and attitude, lesser spirituality.

And when we do try to excel at sometime, whether it be dressing nicely, performing well, or doing something nice for someone else, we sometimes even feel obliged to apologize for it when someone points it out in a less than complimentary manner.

It doesn't help that the central theology to the mainstream evangelical megachurch culture these days is, "Jesus loves and accepts and tolerates you for who you are. He embraces your flaws."

While there may be a nugget of truth in aforementioned statement (we have a gracious Savior), unfortunately this is often lived out in a way where those claiming Christ mislabel sins as "flaws" and live in an unfortunately sloppy, lazy style, both in their everyday lives and their spiritual life.

Personally, I don't find this to be biblical. Yes, there is room to relax, there is room for mistakes, there is grace.

But there is also something called sanctification and holiness that we are to pursue. We are spiritually called to be running a race, a marathon, not spiritually sitting and eating ice cream.

My closest friends at college and I all try to pursue excellence. We dress presentably, we work hard to get good grades, we have jobs (some of us multiple jobs), we make an effort not only to go to church but to contribute to our congregations, and we make sure we have enough sleep, nourishment both physical and spiritual, and keep a cheerful and God-glorifying attitude. Yes, we take coffee breaks and have pizza parties and go sledding and have fun, but after we've finished out tasks at hand. Work before pleasure. And not just work, but good work. Many of us came from circles where this was the norm. Our parents raised us this way, and our churches taught us to live this way. So in all honesty, please pardon us if we give you a blank stare when you say something along the lines of, "Overachiever."

No, we are not overachieving. We are trying to excel, to do well, to do as we are called to do for the glory of God. Yes, we have to be careful that we don't grow proud, but then again in my own experience I find more pride in those who wear their underachievement and broadcast it to the world.

"All I ate today is junk food!"

"I didn't read anything/do any homework/pay attention to the lectures for this class at all!"

"I stayed up all night watching Netflix!"

"I haven't been to church in weeks, hahaha!"

"My dorm/house is a mess, like, all of the time. I don't even care."

"I haven't washed my hair in, like, two weeks!"

"I don't want to do anything. I just want to lie around in yoga pants and blankets and ignore the world."

Granted, sometimes we get behind on cleaning due to busy schedules. Sometimes we need a break. Sometimes it's good to enjoy good food and destress. Sometimes we need to be introverted.

We do not need to be purposely sloppy. We do not need to procrastinate constantly. We do not need to complain or feel entitled to good grades or let go of personal hygiene or shut ourselves off from the world and be a nuisance to those around us.  We are not called to carry out the desires of the mind and the body, which I believe applies outside of just the sensual. It also applies to laziness and gluttony.

We are not called to this lazy, selfish life that the world promotes these days, especially among the 18-35 age group.

Nor are we called to settle for mediocrity. To exemplify Christ is not to settle for mediocrity. It is to excel for His name, His kingdom, and His glory.

Dear brothers and sisters, we are called to work hard. We are called to put serious effort into our personal, social, and spiritual lives, into our work and calling, and to do so without constant complaint and with a good attitude.  Yes, we are called also to enjoy life, but from the Garden of Eden we were designed to work well.

We are called to pursue excellence. We are called to put effort and elbow-grease into our lives.   To work heartily for the Lord, as Paul says in Colossians 3:23. In 2 Peter 1, Peter reminds us we are called to God's excellence. Proverbs 31 does not say, "A messy, sin-embracing wife who can find?" It says, "An EXCELLENT wife who can find?"

Pursuing excellence is not pride. It can be, but not if it is done for God. This is not a foreign, crazy idea, and anyone from the previous generations will tell you that. The American Dream used to be driven by a desire to excel and to prosper. To be fair, this has often been more out of a materialistic perspective than a godly one, but the point still stands. Today, we live in an era that prefers mediocrity if it means everyone gets a trophy. Economic, educational, and social "equality" is actually just a flat plain where everyone wins and feels good about their shortcomings  and bad characteristics instead of accepting them and trying to improve or change. This cultural mentality will make those who pursue Biblical excellence stick out like sore thumbs in our society of entitlement and cut corners.

But then again, we are called to be the light and the salt of the world. Let us not sit with willingly idle hands, complaining mouths, and unapologetic consciences. Let us put effort into our spiritual race. Let us once again pursue excellence.

And someday we will hear, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."