The CEO for Research in Motion (the company that produces Blackberry) recently stated that his company’s platform has “a clear shot at being the number three platform on the market.”
There’s nothing like aiming for the middle.
Granted, RIM has been struggling for a while. After dominating the smart phone market for years, they have fallen far behind Apple and Android. So aiming for third place isn’t that bad considering what they’ve gone through.
But still, saying that we’re aiming for the middle isn’t that inspiring.
What if in final episode of The Next Generation, when Captain Picard is trying to encourage his young crew, he had told them that they were the third finest crew with whom he’d ever served?
What if in his eulogy of Spock, Captain Kirk had said that Spock was the third most human person with whom he’d come in contact?
What if in his speech to his men, Leonidas had told his 300 men that they were going to give their third last breath defending their homes and their way of life?
Aiming for the middle isn’t that exciting. Shooting for third place isn’t that inspiring. God definitely wants more for us.
Colossians 3:23 says:
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.
No matter what we’re doing, we’re supposed to give it our best effort because we’re working for the Lord. Now our best effort might only be third place, which is fine, but that shouldn’t be our goal or our aim. We should strive to be the best that we can because it honors and glorifies God. Our excellence can be a reflection of God’s own perfection.
Our best may not be first place all the time; our best might not even be third place. God isn’t as concerned with the results as he is our effort. Like David we are going to stumble, but we can still be people after God’s own heart as long as we pursue him with everything we have.
When do you feel tempted to aim for the middle?
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