Read: 2 Timothy 2:14-16
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God -
1 Timothy 2:15
One of my favorite bible teachers is Christian financial adviser, Larry Burkett. He often said, "There is no substitute for self-control." I typed out taped up this bit of wisdom to my locker at work to remind myself that working with excellence is a choice. We all know that we should do whatever our hand finds to do "mightily as unto the Lord and not unto men" (Colossians 3:23) but how often do we accept good enough as good enough.
Last week our worship team discussed the need for personal discipline in practicing on our own at home. Learning our parts to the point of excellence takes time and good ole hard work. But the rewards are tremendous. Come Sunday, we find ourselves actually leading the congregation toward intimate worship and we also discover the joy of knowing that God is pleased with our effort, because we've chosen to work as unto to Him and not unto men. We sense that we are "workmen that need not be ashamed." (2 Timothy 2:15)
In my vocational position with a local power company we have a saying after a hard day's work: "I don't back up to my paycheck." What that means is that we actually gave an honest eight and more. For the Christian, there is no other way to work. We do everything with excellence all the time, or at least that should be our goal...including personal practice.
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