Strive For Excellence

“Now as you excel in everything-faith, speech, knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love for us-excel also in this grace” 2^nd Corinthians 8:7 HCSB

The verse of Scripture quoted above is in a section of one of Apostle Paul’s letters to the church in Corinth that majorly deals with the subject of giving. While giving is an important subject and a vital expression of generosity and obedience to God, this post is not focused on giving. I am drawn by the imperative that God passed to the Corinthian church and by extension to us through Apostle Paul’s letter. It is not a suggestion or an opinion but a command. It is a command we are strongly urged to follow.

2^nd Corinthians 8:7 is a call for us to excel in different areas of our lives. It is not supposed to be restricted to only some aspects of our lives. I have noticed that many of us live fractionated or compartmentalized lives. We separate our lives into segments forgetting that we really have only ONE LIFE. God’s call for us to excel applies to every area of our lives.

This call for us to strive for excellence is evident in some other Scriptures:

“And may the Lord make you to increase and excel and overflow in love for one another and for all people, just as we also do for you…” 1^st Thessalonians 3:12 Amplified Version

“Finally, believers, we ask and admonish you in the Lord Jesus, that you follow the instruction that you received from us about how you ought to walk and please God (just as you are actually doing) and that you excel even more and more…” 1^st Thessalonians 4:1 Amplified Version

“And this I pray: that your love may abound yet more and more and extend to its fullest development in knowledge and all keen insight (that your love may display itself in greater depth of acquaintance and more comprehensive discernment), so that you may surely learn to sense what is vital, and approve and prize what is excellent and of real value (recognizing the highest and the best, and distinguishing the moral differences)…may you abound in and be filled with the fruits of righteousness…” Philippians 1:9-11 Amplified Version

God wants His people to excel both in inward character and outward behaviour. He has not called us to simply drift through life. God has called us to excellence. The Greek word translated “excel” in the Amplified Version in the verses quoted above is the word “perisseo” which means “to exceed a fixed number of measure, to abound or overflow, to excel”. God desires that we abound in our lives. He has not called us to a life of mediocrity or lethargy. 

I will end my post here this week. Whatever stage you are in life, God is calling you to abound. God’s desire is for you to excel and He has given us resources to enable us achieve just that. Please come back next week as we continue on this topic of striving for excellence.  

Note: HCSB is Holman Christian Standard Bible