The greatest enemy of great is good. (Author Unknown)
Are we inclined to settle for good when we could do better? Old mail-order catalogs used to list products as good, better, or best. When it comes to our work, who is the target we want to please with our work? We should take the greatest pleasure in our work when it is done at our very best. Let’s do the best we can and not settle for good. Go for great!
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
Man must strive, and striving he must err. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 18th-19th century, regarded as the most influential writer in the German language)
Not a very encouraging thought, is it? Are we doomed to failure? No, it’s more likely simply a warning that we will make mistakes. As important and difficult as mistakes are, it’s what we do afterwards that is the essential issue. What do we learn from the mistakes? How do we improve and move on? Ever striving and ever learning, that’s the ticket!
Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive (Titus 3:14).
What we do is not as important as why we do it. (Anonymous)
It’s all in the motivation, isn’t it? Do we do our good deeds to earn some personal benefit, to receive the accolades of others, or to improve our résumé? Or are we helping to improve life for someone else, to serve those in need, or to render a service to a deserving charity? Whatever we do, let’s do it thoughtfully and with proper intent.
For it is [God] who blesses you with bountiful harvests and gives you success in all your work (Deuteronomy 16:15).
Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. (Vince Lombardi, late legendary football coach)
They say that some people are born with a silver spoon in their mouth. They are rich because of mom and dad’s wealth, not from their own effort. People who are successful in business, music, or athletics may have been born with unusual talent, but they achieved their successes the old- fashioned way—they earned them. If you want to achieve anything, be sure to work hard at it.
Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper (Proverbs 13:4).
Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work. (Aristotle, 4th century BC Greek philosopher)
A great thought for Labor Day. If your work gives you pleasure, you will no doubt do a better job. As someone else has said, “What we do is not as important as why we do it.” It’s all in the motivation, isn’t it? Do we do our good deeds to earn some personal benefit, or are we helping to improve life for someone else? Whatever it is, let’s do it thoughtfully and with proper intent.
Wise words bring many benefits, and hard work brings rewards (Proverbs 12:14).
Every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence. (Anonymous)
The old proverb says, “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.” Whatever we set our hand to do is worth our best effort. The quality of our work reveals something about our work ethic and character. Would you be pleased to be judged by your work? If not, it’s time to work at doing your very best.
Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave (Proverbs 12:24).
The real democratic . . . idea is not that every man shall be on a level with every other man, but that every man shall have liberty to be what God made him [to be], without hindrance. (Henry Ward Beecher, 19th century American clergyman)
“All men are created equal.” But what does that mean? We don’t all have equal talent, ability, or resources. That’s true, but the democratic ideal is that no one should be deprived of the opportunity to develop his or her abilities and skills to be all they can be. Because we’re not in this world alone, we should work to benefit others as well.
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others (1 Peter 4:10).
Poverty is not virtue; wealth is no sin. (Charles Surgeon, late renowned preacher)
Some cultures regard wealth as an indication of God’s blessing. To be poor is thought to be evidence of wrong living. The Bible teaches that neither is true. Work is said to be virtuous, and the accumulation of wealth for selfish reasons is said to be sinful. The secret is what we do with what we have and how we regard our stewardship of what God entrusts to us.
Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time (Prov 13:11).
Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, Or what’s a heaven for? (Robert Browning, 19th century English poet and playwright)
If you’re a student, are you working hard to learn more, to do more than what’s required, to gain more involvement in your field of study? If you’re in the workforce, are you striving to be more efficient and effective? If we don’t try to do more than what’s required, we may miss out on the value to be gained by putting in the extra time and effort.
One thing I do . . . I press on toward the goal to win the prize (Philippians 4:13-14).
I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble. (Helen Keller, early 20th century American educator)
Who decides what is significant? Is a father teaching his son how to solve an arithmetic problem any less significant than a mathematician discovering a theory that helps resolve an aerodynamic question? It might have been the father’s help that resulted in the significant discovery. In reality, it is God who determines whether we are to do noble or common work.
But as for you, be strong and courageous, for your work will be rewarded (2 Chronicles 15:7).
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. (The Bible)
In other words, whatever is worth doing is worth doing well. Our thoughts this month will focus on work. The diligent worker always tries to do his best, taking pride in his work whether or not it will be seen by others. Famous sculptors are said to have finished the back side of a statue with equal care as the front side. That’s a good example to follow.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men (Colossians 3:23).
The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education. (Martin Luther King Jr.)
The essential elements of education are still knowing how to read, write, and do the math. But from the earliest days of formal training, the truer goal of education must be to know how to use what is learned. Such knowledge will have great value over one’s lifetime. The result is a life of wisdom which will benefit you and others.
The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death (Proverbs 13:14).