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Do Our Best

There is a philosophical debate between the ideas of doing one's best and trying to do one's best. There are those who believe all we can do is attempt our best, and the attempt, even if it ends in failure, is what matters. Others believe that no matter what, we must always do our best.  This belief stems from the idea that a result rather than the effort is the metric to measure success. There are many verses in the Bible on this topic.

Proverbs 22:29
Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.

Diligence is one quality that leads to success.  A person is diligent because they work towards a result and are unwilling to compromise on the result. Those who are diligent seek success from their efforts and are unwilling to accept failure as the final destination.

Proverbs 10:4-5
He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.

Lack of diligence leads to a result that will be less than our best. In the National Football League, there is a wide receiver who once admitted he didn't give every game his best. With skills that should have had him at the top of the game, his teams never made it to the Superbowl. As long as a team is willing to keep a member with an attitude of doing less than one's best, the team will not be successful. In football there are many crunch times just as there are in life. Those who take it easy during crunch times will not be successful.  Those who prepare for crunch times show that success is there final destination.

Luke 15:11-32
And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

A person is not always focused on success as their final destination. Many children get distracted from success because they do not make the connection between diligence and success. Educational are only a predictor of success. Some children struggle academically for a variety of reasons and do their best each day even though school is not an enjoyable experience. These children will be successful as adults if this diligence is continued in adult living. Other children find education easy, yet never develop internal thought processes that function as diligence. These are the children who never need to study to achieve the highest grades. As adults, these children may be dissuaded by the hardships of life. As a school teacher, I think this is one of the reasons many teachers burn out in the first five years.  Many get into education because they were good students, and they unprepared intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually to work with students who for whatever reason do not value education.

1 Peter 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

od wants us to be successful because he wants us to live through abundant mercy. Abundant living is not measured in matters that are physical but in matters that are spiritual. Abundance is the result of diligent effort, and diligence is the result of a thought process. All of our thought processes should be tied to the Holy Spirit.

Deuteronomy 30:19
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

The ultimate metric of success is life or death. As Christians, we will either be resurrected to eternal life, or we are condemned to death in the Lake of Fire described in Revelation. In the end those who are spiritually successful will be given eternal life, and those who are not successful will be given death. In all if our choices, we choose life, and we make this choice by first choosing diligence as we do our best.

All verses are from the King James Version.
This site provided by Tom Laign. To all who may believe differently, I also extend peace and love.
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