“For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”  (2 Corinthians 10:12)

This verse says, you can learn from others, but don’t try to imitate them. We confuse this when we try to become better in our leadership style, thinking Hebrews 6:12 is a command to find heroes of our profession, then try to be like them. “Imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promise.” It is alright to follow others as an example, but there is only One we are to imitate, God Himself (Ephesians 5:1). It is frustrating to try to be someone you are not. God made you unique, so be content to be yourself. Why should I try to imitate God? Because you will never arrive to His level, and He can work within your uniqueness. He knows you better than you know yourself.

If you do arrive to someone’s level you admire, where can you go from there? You need a goal that is higher than you are or could ever be. Maturity and improvement are never the ending endeavor. Honestly, you will never reach perfection in this life, but one reason you are left here is to try. You should leave life a better person than you were as a child or teenager.

To compete with God is to become a little better today than you were yesterday, using God’s wisdom and guidance. It is God, not others, Who teaches us the true spirit of excellence. In essence, competing with God is another way of using His power to improve yourself. Or it is simply competing with yourself each day using God’s power.

Hezekiah Was One of Israel’s Best Kings

“Thus (taking a census) Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and true before the Lord his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart (excellence). So he prospered (2 Chronicles 31:21).

Verse 21 is Hezekiah’s passion for excellence in his service to God.  The king’s passion toward the Lord was a seeking for excellence in every area of life. Excellence is seeking for God with all your heart and soul.  “Seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29).  “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13).

Everything Hezekiah did until now was done the same way. He put excellence into his home, family, and relationships. This carried over into the work of the Lord in God’s house. Hezekiah worked at each level of his career as if it was permanent.                           

You are no better at church than at home or in public.

“I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house… (Acts 20:20).

“(The deacon) who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?);

Moreover, he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil” (1 Timothy 3:4-5,7).

Home is the testing place for service in the world. And, how you handle people and circumstance at home and the world is how you will handle people in God’s house.

How Hezekiah Handled the Mundane

The census Hezekiah was to conduct was tedious, boring, and in most cases, uninteresting. Yet, it had to be done. How you pour yourself into menial tasks determines rewards in the greater thing.

If you are not faithful over the little things, He will not make you ruler over greater things (Matthew 25:21).

You never begin with great responsibilities but with small, making burgers, cleaning a warehouse, grounds keeping or filing papers.

Competing daily with yourself makes the mundane more enjoyable.  Instead of enduring your day until it is over, you can have some rejoicing that you completed a little more today than you did yesterday and anticipate accomplishing a little more tomorrow. Look for ways to accomplish your work sooner without sacrificing quality. This is how many inventions have been created to speed up mundane, but

necessary work.

Keep this attitude up even when you find your calling and profession in life. And one day, without trying, you will be known as one of the best, if not the best of your profession. When you do this with God’s help, as Hezekiah did, you will be amazed. Being one of the best was not your goal. Being your best was.

There are Notes I Have Not Hit

Phil Driscoll is an outstanding and unique trumpet player. I have been with him during his times of relaxation and most of the time he had a trumpet mouthpiece pressed to his lips. He could make music with only the mouthpiece. I asked him why he practiced so much, and he said, “there are notes I have not hit yet.” He was not comparing himself with any other trumpet player he admired, he was competing with himself to hit notes which seemed unattainable.

 One night on the Johnny Carson Show, no comedian or music group was available, and Johnny asked Doc Severinsen and his band to play instead. Doc played his trumpet and the audience cheered and applauded. When Doc sat down by the desk, Johnny told him, “you must be the best trumpet player in the world.”  Doc said “no, Phil Driscoll is the best trumpet player in the world.”  Do you know who was the most surprised to hear that statement? Phil Driscoll. He was amazed to hear this from one of the best trumpet players known. He was not trying to be the best but was now known as that. When I heard what Doc Severinsen said, I remembered the hours of Phil blowing on only a mouthpiece. It paid off. 

Do You Treat Your Calling Passionately and with All Your Heart?

“Brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble” (2 Peter 1:10).

No calling is complete or ever will be. You can always work on it, give diligence daily to its growth and maturity and watch it improve.

God gives you a job, an occupation, and a calling for your life. But you must put the effort into it for its improvement. How that calling operates in you will be different than how it works in someone else. God broke the mold when He made you. He broke the mold with everyone. The gift comes from God and may be the same in others. But how it operates in you is up to you. Your diligence makes your calling and election sure, certain. It is the least you can do for a God that has done so much for you.