Don’t settle for “good-enough”

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Sanctification”

Our Bible verse for today: “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:5-8 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Don’t settle for good-enough”

In 2 Peter 1:5-8 the Apostle Peter was essentially describing the ongoing process of progressive sanctification. He was calling his readers to develop daily habits of spiritual discipline that would result in the Holy Spirit slowly transforming them into a better reflection of Jesus. Peter reiterated that call a couple of chapters later when he wrote in 2 Peter 3:18, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” There it is again, “grow,” “change,” “transform,” and become better than you have been.

In 1989, while I was still serving as a Naval Officer, I went to graduate school at night in my off-duty hours to earn a Master of Science degree in curriculum development for business. The idea was for the curriculum developer to go into an industrial or business setting that was not producing acceptable results. The developer would then meet with the leadership team to determine what the best-case scenario would be. In other words, “In a perfect world, what would be the ideal outcome that you would like to have?” Once that ideal was identified we then knew what the goal was. The next step was to work with the subject matter experts to develop training for the organization that would take them from where they were, and get them progressively closer to where they needed to be.

Could we say it was progressive sanctification for business? Perhaps. But that is exactly what the Holy Spirit does with us. He identifies where we’re at, compares it to where we need to be, and then starts walking us through a process that is designed to take us from where we are and move us closer and closer to where we should be.

The business leadership guru Jim Collins once wrote a book about this that was an international best-seller. It was called “Good to Great” and it was based on the premise that too many businesses and individuals settle for just being good when they could be great. We decide that what we are and where we are is good-enough. But that then keeps us from ever moving forward to becoming what we could be.

Too many Christians are simply good when they could be great. The Holy Spirit wants you to be great in your spiritual maturity. He doesn’t want us to settle for “good-enough.” You are capable of much more. In terms of your spiritual development, you may be good, but you could be great. I encourage you not to settle for good-enough.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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