Just get started

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Sanctification”

Our Bible verse for today: “There is profit in all hard work, but endless talk leads only to poverty.” Proverbs 14:23 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Just get started”

In yesterday’s devotional I encouraged us to not settle for “good-enough,” and I referred to the classic leadership book “Good to Great” by Jim Collins. Well, here’s another encouraging thought for us, and this one comes from the great Christian writer G.K. Chesterton from the late 1800s. Chesterton was a large man with a big bushy mustache and a fun, engaging personality. He was known for his sharp wit and his good humor. He was funny, blunt, convicting, and challenging, all at the same time.

He once said something about procrastination that at first blush seems a bit confusing. We can find ourselves scratching our heads and wondering what in the world Chesterton means. But upon further reflection, we realize there is great wisdom in it. Chesterton said, “If a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.”

Say what? If a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly? Does that mean it’s okay to do things badly? And how does that square with what we learned from Jim Collins about not being content with mediocrity or simply being “good-enough?”

Actually, it’s all part of the same mindset. Yes, we want to be our best and to never settle for mediocrity. But we also don’t want to set the bar so high right out of the gate that it is intimidating to the point that we’re afraid to even attempt the thing. The point Chesterton was making was that if a thing is worth being done, then do it. Just do it to the best of your ability. Even if your initial efforts are not very good, so what? If it’s a worthwhile thing, then doing it badly is better than not doing it at all. If you’re making an effort, you can reasonably expect to get progressively better at it as you continue doing it. That’s better than not doing the thing at all.

With respect to progressive sanctification and the process of transformation the Holy Spirit wants to take you through – just get started. You’re not going to instantly be some kind of super-saint. So what? If you are a little better today than you were yesterday, then you have made progress. So, pray – even if you pray badly, just pray. Read your Bible – even if you don’t understand a lot of it, read it anyway. Go to church – even if the preacher does have more hair in his nose than on his head and he’s a little odd in his mannerisms, go anyway.

You get the point. Just get started. It’s better to do it poorly than to not do it at all. Your praying, understanding, acts of service to others, and all the rest, will all get better with time. (The preacher I’m not so sure about, but the rest of the stuff will get better.) So, don’t procrastinate. Just get started.

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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