Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, 

a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handing the word of truth.

II Timothy 2:15, ESV

I have always loved this particular verse. Not just for its specific instruction for us to do our best when reading God's word, but also for its general application: Do your best!

I grew up in an era of competition. On field days at school, we received blue ribbons for coming in first, red for second, and green for third. In our little leagues, we received a first-place trophy for the champion, and a runner's up trophy for the second best in the league. In school, the A's were reserved for the very best students in a particular subject, while those who showed a decent understanding of the subject received a C. Those who failed to master the basics of any subject either caught up to the rest of the class or were invited to come back the next year. It's not that they didn't believe in the concept of no child left behind. it's just that they did not permit a bunch of "free riders" who would cripple the best efforts of the rest of the class by taking undo advantage of the concept.

I am pleased to say that I never came back to the same class twice (well, there was that computer programing course in college that I did have to take two swings at) but I also have to admit that I wasn't always in that smiling bunch that came home with the A's either. I can tell you this, though: When it came to trying to get the trophies, I nearly always did my best. And though I rarely won any of these coveted prizes, it only served as fuel to motivate me to try harder. 

There was something else about this era that I believe is vital. The winners were not allowed to openly gloat, and the losers were not permitted to show poor sportsmanship. A violation on either side was met with swift consequences, first from the coach, then from mom and dad at home. Typically, a poor sport was also handled in other (but equally efficient ways) by the kids in the neighborhood. This is not to say that we were happy when we lost, nor a bit too exuberant when we won, it was just a really good idea to never take it too far in any one of these directions.

So, while this did mean you couldn't "spike the ball" when you scored ("act like you've been there before" was the coach's strict rule) and you didn't throw the bat when you struck out ("you'll get 'em next time") what it did mean was that you played your hardest and that you took great satisfaction when you came out on top. The idea of a participation trophy would have been looked at with disdain by any self-respecting kid, and likely would have been tucked away at the back of the closet in shame rather than displayed out in the open with pride.

So, it is not only the competition that is important, but it is also coming out on top with a combination of the thrill of victory and a graciousness towards those who also gave their best.

And it is this giving of one's best that is so important. This is the standard that God has set for all His children. That's why the verse above instructs us to give our best. The Master who gave the one talent man his one talent, also gave the two and five talent men theirs. Perhaps only God and you know where you fall in this "talent" allotment, so it is up to us to live up to the standard of our best in each category. For me, that means that I do my best with my one talent when it comes to things like singing at the worship and taking care of things at the church building that I can do. I don't have the fine voice of our song leaders, but I can still sing with joy along with the rest of the congregation when we come to that part of the worship, so I do. I don't have the carpentry skills that my dad had when remodeling a church building or two, but I can run a vacuum cleaner when the carpet needs cleaning. I'm not the five-talent guy to ask to bring a dish to the potluck supper, but I can clean that dish in a five-talent manner when everyone has had their meal. 

And when it comes to the doing your best part in correctly handling God's word, I can do that too. I may not have as sharp a mind as the Bible-scholar, but the standard of doing our best is the same for both of us. I might not be as encouraging with my kids as the next fellow, but I can still be thoughtful in the attempt to make them feel good for their jobs well done, and I can encourage them to do better in a kind but firm way in the jobs not as well done. The point of all this is that we are not commanded to do better than any of God's other servants, but we are commanded to do our best - and this is the whole point, to be specific, our best!

And when we do our best, we will find wonderful things happening. We will find ourselves surprisingly atop that victor's podium at times, and we will find ourselves the proud recipients of a bonus check at others. As we learn to become comfortable with our victories and mindful of those who did not take first, we will find ourselves more popular, because it really is a fact that even those you defeat will admire you and cheer for you after a fair and hard-fought contest. It is true that you will come across the occasional "poor loser" from time to time, but as you gain a more gracious attitude in your victories and defeats, you will find fewer and fewer of those poor losers. 

And someday, there will take place the greatest "award ceremony" ever held. The victors will hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant" and we will cheer with joy every pronouncement of that blessed phrase that we all want so dearly to hear. But we have to understand this: This trophy, though clearly underserved for each one who receives it, will only be for those who gave their very best. The winner's trophy was never intended for any other type of effort. But for those willing to give their genuine and honest "very best", God through His grace will give us the ultimate prize: An eternity with He and Christ in heaven! And, just as anyone who has ever received that hard fought for trophy after a long period of best efforts in training and in effort, there can be nothing sweeter than that moment when we win that prize!

Two other things must be emphasized before I close: First, we do not deserve it - it still can only come about by the grace of God and the shed blood of Christ. Second, everyone (and I do mean every single one) who gives their genuinely best effort (as judged by God, not men) will receive this prize. This, I believe, should be motivation enough for each one of us to give our best in our pursuit of excellence for the One who gave His life for us that we might someday taste this sweet victory.