For the Lord, not for men

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men" Colossians 3:23

I ran across this verse about a year ago, and at the time it particularly struck a chord with me as I worked on conqering my senioritis in school and Bible Bowl. Now, almost a year later, I am again reminded of the importance of, as the message puts it, doing your best. Now I don't mean doing my best for me, so that I look good or prove something to myself and others, but rather doing my best, and then letting God take care of the outcome.

I have found it hard over the past year or so, to understand the confusing concept of "doing my best." I have always been a perfectionist, and I stand firmly by that aspect of my personality. I have come to realize, however, that while there may be a place for perfectionism when editing a paper or organizing my closet, perfection is not always an achievable, realistic, or sensible goal to strive toward. There simply are not enough hours in the day, or rather in a lifetime, to work at something so much that it is perfect. And frankly, let's be realistic, we are human. Though we know this, let me reiterate it: no one is perfect.

So how do I bridge the gap between the perfectionist mindset where nothing or no one could ever be quite right, and the concept of doing my best and being content and leaving it at that? The first concept I have to wrap my mind around is that of being content with my best. As a person who loves to excel, and expects to do so, how can I be ok with it if my best isn't the best? What if my best isn't good enough?

Me and my youth pastor have had extensive conversations about this concept. He always asks me, "Did you do your best?" And I say, "Well yea, I always do my best, but--" But he always cuts in right there with, "Then that's all that matters." While I know intellectually that he is correct, that is insanely hard to accept when I have just, in my mind, failed hardcore. The world tells us that second place is the first loser. And while we laugh at that prase, I have totally been guilty of that thinking. But I have to remember that I am called, not to win or excel at everything I attempt, but rather to do my best, and most importantly, to do my best for God's glory.

So now, I get that I am supposed to do my best. I am supposed to give it my all, not give up, prepare, etc. But for what? Colossians says for the Lord, not for men. Ok, so don't do it for me, do it for God. But how can I play a game or take a test for God's glory? It's a weird thing to try to understand, how simple tasks such as studying or doing drills could be done for God, when they seemingly have nothing to do with "Christian stuff."

I've found that doing something for the Lord does not mean you are running around saying praise Jesus every five seconds or that you work God into your math homework, but rather that you do that task in a manner worthy of God(Phil. 1:27), and that you trust God to take care of that task. Over and over in Psalms we are admonished to put our trust and hope in God. Psalm 146:3-5 says, "Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God." Or, as the Message puts it, "Don't put your life in the hands of experts who know nothing of life, of salvation life. Mere humans don't have what it takes; when they die, their projects die with them. Instead, get help from the God of Jacob, put your hope in God and know real blessing!" God is our Almighty Creator, why would we let anyone else handle the things in our lives?

Also, Psalm 147:10-11 says, "His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love." God doesn't care about how strong we are or how smart we are, he wants us to put our faith in him, not in our brain or our muscles. He wants us to do our best in everything, and trust Him to take care of the rest. He is more than capable. If we give him our firstfruits, our very best effort, will he not take that and make it even better than we could have hoped for? We have no control of how life happens anyway; why not leave it up to God?

And once I realize that all I have to do is my best, I get that peace that passes all understanding. I know that all I can do is my best, and that for God, that is enough. It may not be enough to get the promotion, make the team, win the trophy or be the best, but to God, my best is really the best. He delights when I do my best and let him take care of the outcome. Because it seems to me that God loves to save us. He loves taking care of us and making us successful. Most of all though, he loves it when we give him credit for doing so. I firmly believe that if I do my best, and trust God to carry out his will in that situation, that he will bless me for that faith. It may not be by giving me the outcome I hoped for, but he will bless me for that faith in his plan. And since God knows better than anyone what's going on, why would I want it any other way?

Psalm 127:1 says, "Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain." My Bible says that the theme of this chapter is "Life without God is senseless." How very true. Whatever I do, if I don't do it for God, it doesn't matter. All I can do is my best, and when my very best is done for God, he will undoubtedly take care of the rest.