If there’s one thing that hinders personal growth, it is mediocrity. This happens when we settle for less than God’s best.
Truth is, we either rise to the challenge of excellence or we ease into the comfort of average. It’s that simple. Mediocrity is a comfort zone that we can so easily get used to. However the teaching of Jesus encourages us to live a life that is as far removed from comfort as it’s possible to get. For example, he challenged the disciples to ‘take up your cross and follow me’ (Luke 9:23). This doesn’t paint a picture of a comfortable life. Yet it’s THE most fulfilling way to live.
Mediocrity leads to apathy and complacency. Excellence energises passion and conviction. Mediocrity feels threatened and offended by the zeal & enthusiasm of excellence. But mediocrity has never achieved anything. Excellence on the other hand, has accomplished much.
Excellence is not the same as perfection though. Perfection is fake and unattainable (in this life anyway). But excellence is something that everyone can aim for. It’s an attitude more than a task. It means we seek to excel in the little things as well as the big things. It means that everything we do is for the glory of God – whether people notice it or nor. It’s this perspective that has the potential to revolutionise our lives.
Excellence challenges us in so many aspects of our living. For example it challenges us to excel in our work. It counters selfishness by challenging us to live for a cause that is bigger than ourselves. It challenges us to raise the bar in our relationships – not pandering to gossip, gripes and complaints, all of which are signs that mediocrity has set in. The list could go on.
At the Junction Church in Leicester and in Loughborough, our aspiration is to rise higher. It’s our goal to ditch average and rise to excellence. This is something that requires discipline & faith. If God deserves anything, then he deserves our everything. He’s really worth it.
