Personal Excellence 3

This is my next to last post in a series of personal excellence based off a talk I gave to our student group this semester. I am entering the home stretch of the semester and will have plenty to write about very soon. Clara is coming along nice in our first pregnancy. Little Owen by all accounts seems healthy.

Personal excellence requires a right theology: The proper theology of personal excellence is not easily divisible from the proper motivation, but I want to elaborate here on a specific spiritual point: an understanding of scripture compels a believer to desire excellence in every situation in which they find themselves. I think there is a tendency in contemporary Christianity to see a stark dividing line between things of this world and the things of God. This has a long and storied tradition (including, within classical Christian thought, the fourth century African bishop Augustine), but I fear that it has more in common with Plato and the Greeks than with the New Testament. For Plato and Aristotle, this physical world was a detestable thing to be rejected and the physical body a nuisance to be cast aside. But in Christian theology, a good God made this world very good and Romans chapter eight tells us that it groans now in eager anticipation for its restoration. Creation is both good and bad. Likewise, God made man in his own image and after his own likeness, but we have sinned and mucked up this image of God within each of us. We also, like creation, groan in our bodies waiting for the restoration of all things, the day when God makes all things new, and our perishable bodies take on the imperishable. This is not to say that the kingdom of the world and the kingdom of heaven overlap one-hundred percent. This is another contemporary error on a different end of the spectrum, but there is certainly a degree of overlap. We are exhorted by Jesus to ask God to bring his kingdom to this earth that his will may be done here, and this began with the rending of the veil in the Temple, with God in the flesh coming to this planet.

I apologize for this long aside, but what I am trying to say here is that when we divide the world up neatly into two opposing kingdoms—God’s and this world’s—everything that seems to be tainted by this world becomes utterly valueless. My answer to this is that the division is not so neat as we can often imagine. Why else would Paul write to the Thessalonian Christians: “⁹Now concerning^(S) brotherly love^(T) you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been^(U) taught by God^(V) to love one another, ¹⁰for that indeed is what^(W) you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to^(X) do this more and more, ¹¹and to aspire^(Y) to live quietly, and^(Z) to mind your own affairs, and^(AA) to work with your hands, as we instructed you, ¹²so that you may^(AB) walk properly before^(AC) outsiders and be dependent on no one” (4:9-12). Why are slaves not told to neglect their work so that they can do spiritual things? If there is no value in the secular work that we do than why are we commanded to remain in those occupations? The obvious answer is that we are commanded to engage diligently with our vocation in this world because God can get glory from our hard work in the secular world.

And the goal of this proper theology is, of course, like everything else, to glorify God. James Davison Hunter is a Christian and a professor at the University of Virginia. His writings on the sociology of the church are a gift to the body of Christ. In a recently published book, titled, aptly, To Change the World, Dr. Hunter makes the following statement: “ If there are benevolent consequences of our engagement with the world, in other words, it is precisely because it is not rooted in a desire to change the world for the better but rather because it is an expression of a desire to honor the creator of all goodness, beauty, and truth, a manifestation of our loving obedience to God, and a fulfillment of God’s command to love our neighbor” (234). The great reformer Martin Luther, several hundred years before Dr. Hunter, perhaps put it more simply when he said that a “dairy maid can milk cows to the glory of God.”

An improper understanding of this principle completely destroyed me at my last major job. I worked for nearly four years for 50-55 hours per week in the sales department for a large, multinational wholesaler and I believe I hated nearly every minute of it. I failed to engage with this truth of scripture that I am to work before the Lord, that I am to glorify him in all of my endeavors and live in faith even in the workplace. You see I viewed the workplace as valuable only insofar as it allowed me opportunities for outreach. After a few months when it became apparent that my coworkers were godless heathens (I say this jokingly) I had no purpose behind showing up every day. If there wasn’t going to be revival at Ferguson Enterprises than I was just there to collect a paycheck. So, I wasn’t a very good worker. I looked like a good worker. I feel like the guy in Office Space who did just enough work to make it look like I was working but the rest of the time I essentially wasted. Also, I began to see all work in the world as worthless and detestable and I began to fetishize working for the church, as if this were the only vehicle through which to honor God. As you can imagine, this led to no great outcomes in my life. And, more importantly, it gave God no glory. Do not withhold glory from God because you don’t like your work. Work hard and see what happens. This is the theology of work that is in the Bible. You’re trusting him for the results, you’re trusting him for success, and you’re trusting him that he can receive glory from the way that you work. And that is no small ambition.

Personal Excellence 2

This post is the second in a series on the topic of personal excellence based on a talk I gave to the student group at our church recently. The following posts will highlight w

Personal Excellence requires proper motivation: our primary, overruling motivation to pursue excellence must emanate from a desire to give God glory. Any other motivation will end in seeking the vain praise of other people. Our goal and aim is praise from God. You can have one without the other. Don’t mistake praise from men as praise from God. Jesus warned the Pharisees as they performed their ostentatious displays of religiosity in front of crowds of people that “They have received their reward in full.” We ought to live as people seeking a reward that cannot be fully given in this lifetime. We ought to make it our aim to hear the words of the good master in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25: “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (25:21).

A secondary motivation, implicit in the parable of the talents I have just mentioned, is that, we have been given a charge by our Lord to be faithful in that which he has given us. Jesus tells us in Luke 16, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much” (16:10). Also, related to this, “To whom much is given, much is required.” There are few American Christians who could contend that we have not been given much. In terms of opportunity, wealth, health, and even technology our place in history is unrivalled. How will we use it? Will we use what God has given us to become excellent students, employees, missionaries, teachers, nurses, engineers, auto mechanics, preachers, fathers, husbands, mothers, wives, sons, daughters, followers of Jesus, friends, and servants? I shudder sometimes to think of what God has given me and how small my response has been.

A third motivation: When God first called Abram away from his people he gave him the following promise: “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing” (12:3). In other words, God blesses us so that we are equipped and can turn around and bless others. The blessings that we receive do not end with us--they are meant to be used to point others towards God. Excellence is a surefire way to be capable of blessing others. Excellence in whatever walk of life opens the doors for us to bless other people.

Biblically, I think immediately here of the story of Nehemiah. I don’t have time tonight to get into every detail of that incredible story, but here are the pertinent facts as it concerns our present discussion: Nehemiah was a Jew in exile working in the court of King Artaxerxes, otherwise known as the king of the Persian empire. He was obviously a diligent and accomplished worker and eventually found his way into a position as cupbearer to the king, a position of some prominence. One day, after hearing fresh information on the status of the temple in Jerusalem and the Jewish people in general Nehemiah became depressed and entered Artaxerxes’ presence in that state. Artaxerxes, clearly not used to seeing Nehemiah downcast, asked him what the trouble was and Nehemiah told him. Because of this, Artaxerxes opened up the finances of the Persian empire to aid Nehemiah in his efforts to rebuild the temple. Because Nehemiah was a good worker with a positive attitude, the temple was rebuilt. When God blesses us, we must bless others.

Personal Excellence 1

We are getting to that point in the semester where my life is robbed from me for about four or five weeks and I pile myself under mostly unread books in my office and try to find something to say that will be both interesting enough to keep me busy and content for this seemingly interminable period and, perhaps more importantly, something that my professors will enjoy and reward me with high marks for having written. Therefore, blog activity will be truncated until this period ends when I will have a flood of new material to write about, including: Christian socialism, James Joyce, getting back into running after a long winter’s hibernation, the debilitating Kansas summer heat, impending fatherhood, and much more.

In the meantime, I am going to cop out and do a series of posts based on a message that I gave recently to the student group at our church. This is mostly so I don’t have to do much original thinking for the purposes of this blog and because the topic will be a good reminder to me to persevere in this trying time. This post is by way of introduction and I will follow it up with four posts that highlight the main points of my talk, posting once a week until the madness of this semester passes.

The topic of the message was personal excellence and the Biblical mandate, if indeed there is one, for a Christian to strive for excellence in what you could call worldly matters, the everyday things such as: working a job, being a student, pursuing hobbies, etc. I believe this enough of a framework in which this can make sense. Here was my introduction:

Let me begin by saying that I was asked to speak on this topic not because of any level of personal excellence that I have attained in my life. My inclinations are toward apathy and general uselessness, an ideal life for me would consist of lots of time spent watching courtroom dramas, running, and playing Ultimate Frisbee. However, I have been saved by a great God by great grace and mercy and therefore see myself as called and bound to transcend my natural dispositions. If I have any excellence, it does not emanate from an inclination towards discipline or a ten step plan towards excellence that I follow to perfection, but from God who loved me and saved me and wants to show himself glorious through my life.

This semester in my Renaissance era course I read a book by Count Baldesar Castiglione called The Book of the Courtier. In it, the good count goes on for over 300 pages describing the qualities and attributes desirable in a young man seeking to serve before a prince or king at court. If you have ever heard of the idea of the “Renaissance man,” this conception probably arises out of such works as these. You must be strong and a good fighter, speak Latin and Greek, have read all of the classics, be an accomplished horseman and swordsman, have a high degree of piety, basically be amazing at everything you do while pretending you don’t care about whatever it is you are doing. The literate population of Europe devoured this book. People everywhere read it diligently and tried with all of their might to implement its steps and follow Castiglione’s model. They did it because they wanted to serve before an earthly king with a temporal kingdom. We believe, as Christians, that we are co-heirs with the King of Kings and serve before an eternal God who will rule over an eternal kingdom. I want to suggest that we ought to desire to serve our King with the same fervency and diligence that the prospective courtiers exemplified in their desire to serve before their kings.

This is a difficult topic to discuss and I will try and be careful with my language tonight so as not to overstep any bounds and say something untrue. Nowhere in the Bible are we explicitly exhorted to be as excellent as we can be. Indeed, the reason for our calling, as Paul reminds the Corinthian church is for God to show favor to those who are lowly, i.e. unexcellent, in the eyes of the world: “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; he chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29). And, indeed, any personal excellence that we display in this life is fully attributable to God and his mercy. However, as true as our lowly position might be in this world, things have changed as we have been saved by God and set apart to be his representatives on this planet. We have new standards; many of us were lowly when we were called, but we are not merely to remain that way, but to excel in whatever station of life God has placed us in so that his glory and fame may spread into all of the world.

There are many scriptures I could point to which allude to this point, but for the sake of time I will flag one verse as the thesis for this talk, the jump-off point for the rest of the discussion. This is from Paul’s letter to the Colossians, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (3:24-25). Our job at our jobs is to glorify the Lord through our work, to approach our position—however lowly or exalted—with a disciplined ethic and a heart to honor God, first and foremost, through our labor. This is nothing less than a call to be excellent. And because I am a good English major and I am supposed to give my thesis statement up front, here it is: as we seek to glorify God in all that we do and work as before him and not before men, this will lead us to see value in our everyday life, work, and relationships and as we pursue God’s glory and his blessing, excellence will come as a byproduct of our aim to glorify God.