Good enough really isn't

It seems today that the idea of just getting by is prevalent in church society.  Oh, I know it's everywhere, but it bothers me more when I see it in God's house.  Recently someone brought an old crib to our church to put in the nursery.  When they told me that a friend of theirs had donated it, they gave this explanation: "It's old and won't pass modern safety standards, so we can't use it, but we figured the church could."  The 'spirit of good enough.'

I want to sound out that God is deserving of much more than 'good enough.'  We need to learn to do what we do for God and His house (the church) with a spirit of excellence and the 'spirit of good enough.'  

No matter how good something is, I believe there is always room for improvement.  Jim Collins explains this expertly in his book Good to Great.  I definitely recommend this book for all pastors and church leadership.

Paul understood the concept of needing to move beyond good enough.  Think about Paul for a minute.  He didn't even get saved like anyone else.  Me, you, DL Moody, every Christian you know; God sent a person or a preacher to tell them about the gospel.  Not Paul.  The Lord Himself stopped him on the road.  He wrote almost half of the New Testament.  At one point he was caught up to the third heaven.  And yet this man said I haven't attained.  I'm still pressing on, still beating my body under submission.

John the Baptist understood this as well.  This is the man who was filled the Holy Ghost while still in his mother's womb.  As the Lord's cousin he would have known Him his whole life.  He is the one, out of all of Israel that was selected to be the forerunner of the Messiah; the one who was privileged to baptize and introduce Jesus to the world.  And yet, when his disciples left him, instead of getting mad or jealous, he simply said, I must decrease and He must increase.  What any example of moving away from the spirit of good enough.

So, the next time you are tempted to just get by, to say well that's good enough, remember what the Apostle Paul said.  I'm not there yet. And take Jim Collins' advise and move from good to great.