Excellence is Celebrated everywhere, but the Church. Let’s Talk about it.
The world is enamored with a Winner. The spotlights on them often entail wanting to hear what they did to accomplish their goal. Their rigor and commitment are admired by the onlookers. For an athlete, their countless hours of drills and personal development moves the conversation to what separates them from the rest.
In the business world, it is no different. People love to hear the Rags to Riches stories. The ability to remain focused despite the many obstacles that they have experienced. The laser vision displayed when many events could have detoured them is what catches the attention of the people.
Think about the excellence shown in the craft of top athletes; such as, Lebron James, Stephen Curry, and Coco Gauff. Their regimen to take care of their bodies before even appearing for a game or match speaks to how much they have embraced excellence.
Top tier athletes overall, understand that excellence is associated to attaining the trophy. The late Kobe Bryant was known for extensive practices before and after games to hone in on showing excellence. He has even had colorful conversations with players, whereby he did not respect their cavalier behavior concerning their preparation.
As we take this Heaven side, the Hebrew Boys who were taken into captivity certainly come to mind. In Daniel 6:3, “Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.” The moral compass and work ethic of Daniel, even as a teen boy was exceptional.
The miracle of going from struggling in poor decisions to being able to operate in the Fruit of the Spirit does not get the press like it should. Believers all over the world are putting in the reps of righteousness; routinely doing the laps of loyalty and commitment to the ways of God; yet they find themselves being criticized for putting in the work.
Winners have a speech. They recognize the sabotage their words can have on them being victorious. Heaven has a speech too. As Believers, we are not to shy away from being perfected. A Spirit of Excellence speaks to being able to have a level of greatness that is outside of our own capabilities. It allows us a victory that not only shows the dedication and hard work, but the character and moral standard that accompanies.
Victor speech is not, “Well, we’re only human” or “Nobody’s perfect.” Victor speech is “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me”, Philippians 4:13. Victor speech is knowing God is working an Eternal Excellence in us. It is this profound private work that debuts not just on the stage, but in life.
The NFL hosts a 4 Day Event called “Combine”, which places an athlete’s excellence front and center. There is no subpar language he tells himself in that moment. Not carrying out this expected excellence is rare. The best and brightest are viewed in awe for the work that they put in.
What if we were more celebratory in church for a brother, who after years battling in sexual immorality, exercised the righteousness of God to such a degree, that he moves to living out an abstinent lifestyle and now encourages others, like a great teammate? What if we honored a young lady who went from a single mother to a woman who vowed to only be with her husband? We are missing our shout. Yes, someone getting a car and house are celebratory, but Heaven rejoices when our triumph comes from the divine nature of God being played out in our lives!
