The High Cost of Mediocre Living

The Bible says: “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” Ecclesiastes 9.10

I want to use a word that most of us know or have heard, but for the sake of clarity, I want to define the word. Here it is: mediocre or mediocrity: 1. of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; barely adequate. 2. rather poor or inferior. {Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)}

Just as in nearly every other aspect of life, mediocrity is not confined to the one who chooses to live that way. It affects everyone with whom he/she chooses to interact as well as those who are observing the behavior.

Sports figures have been “benched” for mediocre playing.

A doctor who practices medicine with a mediocre approach soon finds himself looking for patients.

When my doctor makes my eyeglasses, I want to be sure the technician does not approach my prescription with a mediocre attitude. Otherwise my trifocals would not be accurate and I would have great difficulty using them.

When your car comes down the assembly line, there is an inspector whose job it is to maintain quality control. Mediocrity is generally not acceptable.

In marriage relationships, mediocrity leads to no commitment and no commitment often leads to divorce. Why would any man or woman want to live with a spouse who was not giving his/her best to make the relationship work?

Why, then, it is OK to live a mediocre lifestyle when we are involved in ETERNAL matters?

Mediocre living is the height of arrogance. It says, “I know what my best is and you don’t deserve it!” Can you imagine saying something like that to God? Now, we don’t say it, but we do live that way at times.

Consider this verse:

“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” Ecclesiastes 9.10

In this verse we find two things: 1) a call to excellence and 2) a warning against anything else.

Ecclesiastes 9.10: “Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom” {NLT}.

Ecclesiastes 9.10: “Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily! This is your last and only chance at it, for there’s neither work to do nor thoughts to think in the company of the dead, where you’re most certainly headed.” {The Message}.

In this verse there is a call to excellence and a warning against anything less. Once our last breath is gone, we have no further opportunity to do ANYTHING good or bad.

Let me speak to you about a Call to Excellence – “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might;” If we believe that God orders our steps, then there are no coincidences for the Christian. Whatever turns up, grab it. And do it heartily! Last year I watched Drew Fetter and Sam Trogdon as they played basketball for the Rittman Indians. These young men brought a sense of excitement to the game that brought the crowd to its feet. Their zest and zeal for the game was evident from the tip off. I remember reading in the Trading Post a comment by Drew at the beginning of the season. He said, “I want to leave it all on the floor.”

In the arena of spiritual warfare, is there anything for us to do? Are we engaged in a battle? Is the enemy real? Is there a price to pay to move ahead? Is there room for anything other than excellence in our journey through this life? Would you agree that Satan’s warriors give their best in their battles against us? I realize that our salvation is never in jeopardy because our salvation is forever. I also realize that Satan is clever enough to sidetrack us on the journey and cause us to believe that the need is not IMMEDIATE, the cause is not IMPORTANT, and, just maybe, the price is NOT WORTH PAYING.

We often think of excellence as a comparative term. “I am better at it than so and so.” In reality, so and so is not the standard of comparison. Anything less than your best is mediocre.

The verse goes on to give us a Warning Against Anything Else – “for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” A few days ago I posted this to the “Nuggets from Calvary” email list: "Don't be so anxious to give your children what you didn't have that you neglect to give them what you did have." When will yesterday ever come by again? You and I never have a second chance to do the right thing the first time. Often we are consumed with seeing that our children have all the right “stuff.” A young man in my youth department some years ago had a father who was an executive in a large oil corporation. Every time the father went on a trip he would bring home some “stuff” for his son. The boy was a teen-ager.One day his father came home and gave his son his latest “purchase” thinking his boy would be happy with some more stuff. The young man threw the stuff back to his father and said, “Dad, I don’t want your stuff. I want you.”

The call to excellence must embrace every arena of our lives. 1) Our personal walk with God; 2) Our families; 3) Our work place; 4) Our recreational pursuits; and 5) Our ministry pursuits

Anything less than excellence is a reflection upon our Heavenly Father. If we do not love Him enough to give Him our best, we cannot expect anyone who watches us to do any differently? If we do not respect the person of God enough to respond to His call for service with a surrender of our will to His will, how can we ask that of anyone who sits under our teaching or parenthood?

I want to repeat something I said at the outset: Mediocrity is the height of arrogance. We say to others (including God) I know my best, and you don’t deserve it! If God does not deserve your best, then what reason will you give for anything less?