Maximize Your Talents
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
Aristotle
Goal #7: I will develop and use my ability, resources and time for God. I will do my best to use the talents that God has given me for His work. I will maximize these responsibilities without forgetting to take the time to meditate on the beauty of this life and world that God has given to me to enjoy.
One of the things that I liked about John Wooden was his practices. He would run through the plays over and over until the team was as close to perfect as possible. Then he would say, "Okay, now do the same thing, only faster". John Wooden maximized the talent of his team by continually aiming for perfection. How did this philosophy work? Wooden's teams won ten national championships in about a dozen years. The next closest coach to that mark, in the history of men's college basketball, is four. You would have to admit that Wooden's quest for success was pretty good.
If a men can achieve such success in a game, imagine what we as servants of God could do if we daily aimed for perfection in our stewardship to Him. Sometimes we get so caught up in the everyday activities of life that we forget that we will someday answer for that stewardship. God has given us individual abilities as well as all of the resources that we need to properly use those abilities. Further, He has told us that we will someday go before Him to give an account for how we used our talents. So, how are we doing so far?
The point of this is not to insinuate that God will accept nothing short of perfection, but He does expect us to aim for it. Since this is the case, we need to do our best. Unfortunately, we live in a bare minimum world in many areas. Many employees want to know what the least that is expected of them - and then that's exactly what they give. A large number of students have the same attitude when it comes to tests and homework. While this philosophy of bare minimum effort may be acceptable in modern day society, it does not produce much in the way of high achievement, and it definitely produces lousy servants of God.
What, then, will we offer to God in the way of effort? Taking into account that He has given His only Son as a sacrifice for our sins, can we imagine for a moment that He will accept anything less than a pursuit of excellence and perfection? What would you accept?
Aim for perfection...
II Corinthians 13:11, NIV
