Be excellent...

If you’re around my age, you may have gone through primary school at a time when teachers gave children coloured, silver or gold stars for good work. They would write little comments in your notebook, iike, “good” or “very good,” or even “excellent.”  Every child knew that there was a difference between good and excellent; everyone hoped that their work would be worthy of a gold star. Even a child, then, can understand what the Bible means when it tells us in Romans 16: 19 to, “Be excellent in what is good.”

Sometimes, when you’re speaking with non believers, or even when speaking with Christians, you’ll hear people say, “I live a good life” or, “I’m a good person.” That’s all very well, but what sometimes gets forgotten is that God never asked us simply to be good; He asks us to be outstanding, to be excellent.

Amidst the stories of many evil kings in the Old Testament, the first two verses of 2 Chronicles 25 tell us about a man called Amaziah who reigned in Jerusalem for 29 years and who did what was good. Yes, for nearly three decades, this king did what was right in God’s eyes... but verse 2 tells us honestly that he didn’t do it with his whole heart. Amaziah was good, but he wasn’t outstanding; he wasn’t excellent.

In contrast, we read in Numbers 14: 24 about a man who was outstanding. God Himself said that Caleb had a different spirit from those around him and was following the Lord wholeheartedly. That’s what he was known for. It’s mentioned again when Caleb, even as an old man of eighty five, was not willing to settle only for a good and comfortable life, but raised his sights higher and aimed for excellence. (Joshua 14: 10 - 14)

Excellence. Holiness. That’s what’s on God’s heart for us. When we read the New Testament with this understanding, we’ll notice that the Bible doesn’t simply ask us to be thankful; it asks us to be thankful in all circumstances. We’re not only exhorted to be joyful, but to be joyful always. We’re not instructed just to pray now and then, but to pray continually. In addition to holding on to what is good, we are to avoid every kind of evil. (1 Thess 5: 16 - 22)  It’s only when our lives are outstanding, that other people around us can truly see the difference that God makes. We can’t do it alone, but only by asking for the Holy Spirit’s power to work within us. It’s not enough, like Amaziah, to be a “good person.” By God’s grace, we can be people of excellence.