My parents instilled in me from an early age an appreciation of excellence and a drive to want to do my very best at anything I do. There are many ways in which we can slack off and cut corners, and there is no end to the excuses we can come up with to justify such behavior. “Oh, nobody will notice.” “I don’t have time to make that right, it’s good enough for now.” “They don’t give me enough consideration, so why should I spend my time and effort on this?” “I’ll save money if I use this inferior part…what they won’t know won’t hurt ‘em.” And the list goes on.
I read a great book many years ago where a blacksmith was showing a young apprentice how much time he spent to work the metal for some axles and gears and whatnot underneath a carriage, and how carefully he made sure everything looked as precise and as well-designed as possible. The apprentice asked “but why spent so much time and effort on all this stuff underneath the carriage? Nobody will know it’s there.” The blacksmith’s response was simple: “But I know it’s there.”
Yes, God’s creative power is always excellent and his artistry is the height of perfection. But is there a line we humans can cross that leaves true excellence behind and enters a world of harsh criticism and judgement, or perhaps compromise and agreement with human wisdom rather than divine wisdom? Speaking to this, I heard a great comparison that our pastor, Ken Smith, made in a recent sermon (this one, I think) between excellence and correctness, and I wanted to share it with you since I think it’s a really important distinction to grasp.
Correctness is concerned with:
- What humans think of us; being admired by others.
- Being seen by others
- Keeping the peace with others
- Meeting expectations of others
- Getting MY way!
Excellence is concerned with:
- What God thinks of us; bringing God Pleasure
- Being watched by God
- Protecting our relationship with God
- Meeting God’s expectations of us
- Conforming to God’s ways: His “wagon tracks.”
That last bit about the wagon tracks refers to the “paths of righteousness” that David speaks of in Psalm 23. According to Ken, those paths can be interpreted as the tracks in the ground left by wagons as they pass over the same road time and time again over the years. That’s a great analogy — Jesus has already left his tracks in the ground and all we have to do is follow in His footsteps!
I want to live a holy, righteous life of excellence — without falling into the trap of correctness. Only God has the authority to give us the blueprint for our actions, and we must be careful not to cede that authority to any other.
“Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2
I wasn’t there for the “wagon tracks” as the “paths of righteousness” sermon, but I too like the analogy. It’s a well worn path. Many feet have trod the same trail after the trail-blazer. It’s an interesting question: effort that is half-hearted versus excellent versus critical. You’re right: where our focus lies determines the motivation for what we do and how we do it. So simple, and so multi-faceted at the same time!