Good Enough?

Yesterday when I was walking on to the ICC Campus, I heard a remark from a young student that set my teeth on edge. She was chiding a fellow student telling him that, "We can't all be overachievers and go to every class every day." Had I not been on my way to class, I'm not sure I wouldn't have said something.

My father's voice was echoing in my head as I continued on my way. He taught me that the pursuit of excellence was the best way to life. To quote him, "Good enough is never good enough." When that young student made her comment, I immediately thought, "Since when is the minimum requirement overachieving?"

This is something that has always bothered me. The comment I overheard is not unique. In fact, it is indicative of a much broader attitude that has been growing in our culture. Seeing the number of students that skip class or drop it once it begins to get a little hard disturbs me deeply. I understand that classes get difficult but if they weren't, you wouldn't be learning. Challenge is at the heart of education. Even with my schedule, I still work very hard to maintain the highest possible grade I can get. I was raised to always do the absolute best I could do and have a lot of difficulty understanding the attitude of someone who just gets by.

Nowhere does this bother more than in church. I remember the first time I heard the phrase "good enough for church." It was during a church work day several years ago. I was with a group of men who were doing repairs to the buildings. One of them was fixing a basement window and set back and uttered those words. I looked at the job and would not have been happy with it. I could see a couple of potential leaks in it that could have resulted in water coming into the basement classrooms. At the time, I was not in a position to say anything, being a mere Sunday School teacher, but I really wanted to. My blood was boiling.

Since that day, I have worked to eliminate that attitude from the people I serve with and as a pastor over. The Lord deserves excellence in all of our endeavors. When we tolerate and sometimes even celebrate mediocrity, we perpetuate the culture of "good enough." The Lord has every reason to expect our best no matter what it is. After all, the Scripture says that we are to do everything as a act of worship to God. That means everything.

When we consider all the areas of service in the church, whether on the grounds or not, we need to strive for the absolute best we can do and should expect it from others. We should, for example, expect musicians to practice and that includes outside of the official team practice. As a pastor, it is my responsibility to deliver not only the best sermons I can, but also to give the best leadership and counsel I can as well. Patch jobs and half done work are not acceptable in any capacity.

Good enough is never good enough.