OUR PART OR OUR BEST

In the night I heard this phrase: “Do we do our part or do we do our best?”

Do we do our part or do we do our best… Many teams, jobs, churches, communities or efforts could be built and maintained by everyone doing their part. It is also the way to get mediocre results. Because doing our part can easily translate to ‘doing what I have to do’ or ‘to get by.’ (I find giving is also in this category…’Do I give my part or do I give my best?’ A 10% tither is doing their part and a giver is doing their best not thinking of percentages.)

To do our best is another matter. Whether working alone or with a group there is something inside us that prompts us to do our best no matter what. The Military has no options on this issue. Everyone does their part and their best…or else. (This is what I am told. I have never been in the military) However, I have been a part of many projects, groups and efforts where it was decided and determined that everyone would ‘do their part.’ This is almost like a warning. Trouble with this is: some go after it like Bulldogs or Bantam Roosters and others like Sloths or Slackers. I have never been convinced that a lazy person is doing their part… much less their best.

So, what it comes down to is this: No matter what others are doing, no matter what the project, the church, the business, the home group, the job… we must personally decide to do our part or do our best…or both. It does not matter what others do. What we have to sort out is whether we are responding by compromise or competence.

“To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.” Jesus