Success vs. Excellence
I was listening to a podcast from the Catalyst group a couple of days ago while I was exercising. The Catalyst squad was interviewing some of the staff from Buckhead Church in Atlanta. The Campus Pastor there, Jeff Henderson, said something really challenging.
He said the difference between success and excellence is this:
Success is comparing how you’re doing to other people or organizations. Excellence is comparing yourself to your potential.
Most of us are content if we’re doing better than our competition, but that is not a God-honoring way to view our life and our calling. Whether we work for a company or the church, we have an obligation to live up to our God-given potential.
God has called us to impact the world for him in different ways, but he expects us all to live up to our potential. God began a good work in us and is working to complete it as we go through life (Phil. 1:6); we can hinder that process if we’re only concerned about comparing ourselves to others.
God expects us to work as though we’re His representatives in this world (Col. 3:17). Our work ethic points people to God. If we become content and complacent, we’re not going to reach our full potential.
He has given us spiritual gifts to be used for the common good (1 Cor. 12:7). We must depend on God’s power to impact the world and never stop working to make the world a better place.
What is your benchmark? Your God-given potential, your boss’s expectations or your closest competitor’s recent achievements? Take some time to evaluate this and ask God for help seeing your life as He sees it.
