A lot of times it is easier to first look at what something is NOT, in order to form a better understanding of what something is. So....what is excellence NOT?
It is not mediocrity. Mediocrity comes when we take a lackadaisical or "it's only Church" approach to our preparation. We have to understand that the hour on Sunday deserves so much more than that. It is our opportunity and privilege to bring sacrifices, worship and praise to our Heavenly Father. It is an opportunity to touch lives for Him. Either of which, we should not take lightly. When we look at Malachi 1, we see God's disgust and anger for His people's second rate sacrifices. Were they bringing their animal sacrifices as God had asked? Yes.....but their sacrifices were blind or crippled. They were bringing God mediocrity....they were offering second rate and keeping the best for themselves. How many times are we guilty of the same?
Now, let's look at the other end of the spectrum....Perfection! This is another thing that excellence is not. Perfection can actually be a driving force to mediocrity.
What? Did she say what I think she said?
It's true! Now, don't hear me wrong, we should strive to do our best, but understand that things are not always going to turn out PERFECT! We are going to fumble the ball periodically (football reference to keep the men reading). When our obsession with perfectionism drives us to a place where all we can see is what went wrong and we miss everything else, that is a problem. And that problem often leads to mediocrity, because we tend to give up all together. We take on an attitude of, "if I can't be perfect, then why even try." Don't focus on the wrongs, learn from them and also look to what went great. We have to see the bigger picture! God does! He knows our hearts and our intentions!
So, where does that leave us? Excellence is somewhere in between mediocrity and perfection. It means we need to strive to do our best and to bring our best to God. This means forethought, practice, prayer....and by doing this, we then are open and able to allow God to work through us. We are not striving for excellence for our own benefit or glory, but for God's. It also means that we will have moments that, even with our preparation, do not go as we had hoped. But we learn from our blunders and move on, knowing that we are doing our best to bring God sacrifices that are worthy and the best that we can bring!
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