Content with Mediocrity?
I've been thinking about medicrity the last few days. I think this is a sin prevalent in our current Christian culture. Since we think we can never be in an "ideal situation" we are often content to be lukewarm.
I have found it very interesting in the course of having this blog to get a number of comments saying to the effect "I wish I had your life..." Or, "Your life seems too perfect to be true." Or, "You have the ideal situation and I don't."
I always get a little chuckle out of comments like that. If any of these people came and lived my life, they would probably be surprised. Yes, I was blessed to be raised in a Godly home. Yes, I am blessed to be a wife to a Godly husband. And yes, I get to stay home and be a wife and mommy while earning an income at home. But, let me tell you, my life is not perfect. It is also not without difficulty. I am just seeking, by the grace of God, to do the best I can do, to make the most of each moment, and to glorify God where He has placed me. I fall short everyday, but God is faithful!
None of us are in "ideal" situations -- we all have struggles and difficulties. Yes, some have more than others, but no one lives a pain-free, carefree life without difficulty. But, does this give us reason to be content with mediocrity? Should these difficulties keep us from striving higher? Should we settle for less than God's best? No matter where we are, shouldn't we always be aiming and reaching for the ideal, as is found in God's Word?
See my comments here. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
I have found it very interesting in the course of having this blog to get a number of comments saying to the effect "I wish I had your life..." Or, "Your life seems too perfect to be true." Or, "You have the ideal situation and I don't."
I always get a little chuckle out of comments like that. If any of these people came and lived my life, they would probably be surprised. Yes, I was blessed to be raised in a Godly home. Yes, I am blessed to be a wife to a Godly husband. And yes, I get to stay home and be a wife and mommy while earning an income at home. But, let me tell you, my life is not perfect. It is also not without difficulty. I am just seeking, by the grace of God, to do the best I can do, to make the most of each moment, and to glorify God where He has placed me. I fall short everyday, but God is faithful!
None of us are in "ideal" situations -- we all have struggles and difficulties. Yes, some have more than others, but no one lives a pain-free, carefree life without difficulty. But, does this give us reason to be content with mediocrity? Should these difficulties keep us from striving higher? Should we settle for less than God's best? No matter where we are, shouldn't we always be aiming and reaching for the ideal, as is found in God's Word?
See my comments here. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
posted by Crystal Paine at 11:30 AM
7 Comments:
This is a topic that comes up in my family all the time. We are a very high expectations/goal setting family, so to see people content with mediocrity or what's minimally necessary to get by is not only sad, but frustrating for us. If you don't like your life...change it! Not happy? Find out why and fix it! Life is too short, and we aren't going to get out of it alive, so don't accept anything less then the absolute best, and farthest you can push yourself in the direction you want to go. No, we are not perfect, and no we never will be. It's time to stop viewing mistakes as something that sets us back and instead see them as something that places us in a better direction.
GOOD thoughts! Life is a journey. I'm not exactly where I want to be right now...but then again, I don't think I ever will be in this life. If I was perfect I wouldn't need God's strength and grace to uphold me.
But that doesn't mean I shouldn't constantly be striving to make the right choices and conform more to God's character. I think the key is to constantly question how we can grow, and to ALWAYS be in a state of prayer and study. There is never a point where we should just sit down, stop thinking, and stop trying.
Looking back, I can see that I'm in a different place than I was just a year ago. My mind has changed on some things. I've learned some hard but important lessons. I hope that a year from now, I will be in still another place.
I agree. Way too many people think "I just have it easy" or that it's "my personality". Not so. Life is hard on many accounts... just the same as with anyone.
We all make choices about our lives that have a direct impact on our happiness day in and day out.
No one has it 'easier' we just all have it different -- we've been given what God sees fit. We each have the oppurtunity to excel wherever God has placed us.
One interesting way my mother taught me to value excellence and not settle for mediocrity was in the context of music lessons. There were several things she did that I have found to be of extremely high value over the years.
1. She never gave out false praise. She more or less knew what was good and what wasn't, even though she wasn't highly trained herself. She also knew that the worldly notion of "everyone needs to have a good self-esteem" was bunk. It's antithetical to the gospel, at least, the way the world thinks of it.
2. We listened to great recordings of great music all the time. We had great composers such as Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Dvorak, Bach, Handel, etc. We had great performers such as Perlman, Heifitz, Brendel, Ramey, London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, King's College Choir, Cambridge, and many others. So we got to know what was really good and what wasn't by listening to what was good. This is precisely the same methodology that banks use to train their employees to spot counterfeits. They have them handle real money until they're blue in the face.
3. Whenever we played for a judge, and the judge wrote out comments for us, Mom always reminded us that the more the judges wrote, the better they thought the performance was. This made it much easier to respond peacably and correctly to constructive criticism. So we knew something of how to get better.
All of these put together greatly helped me to see true excellence wherever it lies.
Philippians 4:8.
In Christ.
It's funny..I used to wonder why I couldn't get motivated to do my wifely or motherly duties. I wondered what was lacking. I was not content. You know, when I brought it to God and talked to my hubby...things changed. God opened my eyes and I realised that it was because I was not submitting to God and my hubby sometimes too. I wanted it MY way, when I should have been doing God's way. I am still struggling with some things, but I find myself being content and more bold as a Christian by following God's Word.
If you aren't happy...maybe you should go to God and ask Him to conform your will to His.
God and our families deserve our best. Some days I don't deliver and I feel guilty. Other days, I give it my best and that always makes for better days. Thank goodness God's mercies are new every morning.
I have noticed that when I clean house or get some other goal accomplished. Usually a sewing or writing project. But the big one is cleaning cause I really hate it. I feel good that it's done and looks nice. It has motivated me to clean more. Although much improvement needs to be done. So much more improvement.
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