"Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit [was] in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm." - Daniel 6:3
This week in my writing group we discussed excellence; we shared things that we thought were excellent and we pointed out how you can tell if something or someone is excellent. It was inteteresting to hear different perspectives of what people see as excellence. We were then asked to write about our definitions of excellence. One of the definitions that came up was "something that is superior to everything around it"; even at our best description, what we think of as excellent pales in comparison to how God sees excellence.
The Bible tells us about Daniel, in whom was found an excellent spirit, and how he was elevated because "an excellent spirit" was found in him. I asked God what did that mean. The Lord revealed that Daniel was different from everyone else the king had come in contact with. Not only was he able to interpret the king's hard dreams like no one else throughout the region, but also this was the same Daniel that had refused to eat from the king's table because he knew that did not fit with the diet in God's plan for his life. Daniel found favor from the king because his life was marked by excellence. He did not conform to the world in which he lived, but instead he lived according to the spirit that was found within him. We know that Daniel sought the Lord and was continually led by the spirit of God, that was his secret weapon, He let the spirit of God lead and guide him, and others recognized that as excellence.
When you have a spirit of excellence, the world takes notice. A person who walks in excellence does not do the ordinary, but instead they go above and beyond what others are willing to do or what others feel like doing. When God first begin to reveal this to me, He showed me little areas that required that I operate with a spirit of excellence.
Once I was at work and asked by a co-worker to sign and pre-date a document that stated that I had done a particular job. I had not yet done the job because the date had not yet come. My co-worker asked me to sign and date the paper because she felt that I would do the job as required when the date came. Still I refused, in my spirit, I felt a slight nudge to not sign and date the paper because I had not done the job and would actually be lying by signing before hand because my signature and date indicated that the job had been done as asked. This would not have been true on an earlier date. When I shared that Christ would not want me to do this with my co-worker, who seemed a little agitated by my response, others who had already signed felt guilty. Some even asked for a new copy so that they could wait to do the right thing. My co-worker assured them that it was okay and said she understood how I felt. Now my co-worker proclaims to be a Christian, and I am not questioning her relationship nor am I judging her decision to operate in the manner she did. I just know that the spirit within me required me to work with excellence.
The mark of a Christian is supposed to be a life of excellence. God has put us in the valley of life so that others can experience Him through the excellence that dwells within us. Living with a spirit of integrity and excellence is evidence of holiness, which without no man will see God. Even when others don't do the right thing or things seem too trivial to matter, let the spirit of excellence rise out of you. Whether other Christians think it's okay or try to get away with lying, stealing, or other things that compromise the spirit of God, don't fall to the attack of the enemy. Others may be watching you to know the right thing to do. Be the Christian who is noticed and promoted because an excellent spirit is found within you.
Focus
- Ask God to forgive you in areas where you have compromised to go along and get along.
- Pray for a spirit of excellence to be found in you.
- Seek God to reveal when you are being tempted or tested to permit sins that conflict with God's spirit. (Trust the Holy Spirit when you hear that little voice that says this is wrong.)
- Thank God for the favor that He has placed in your life because of the spirit of excellence.
- Trust God to reveal to others the spirit of excellence within you, and to promote you because of it.
Remember
Don't let the enemy lie to you and tell you that compromise is a "little" sin or "little lie"; God sees sin as sin. There are no sections in hell for the little sinners and the big sinners; the lake of fire is reserved for sinners, period.
Another tactic of the devil is to point out to you those who lie, steal, gamble, fornicate, commit adultery or any other sin and seem to be promoted sometimes ahead of you, especially when you begin to walk in total excellence. The scripture says that God is and He is a rewarder to them that diligently seek Him. If you do what God says exactly the way He says it without compromising or making excuses, He will reward you.
Promotion is from God, not man. Some people may go up, but God and man will notice the difference in the work because excellence always rises to the top. Even if man never sees you, God is right all the time. He rains on the just and the unjust and He is the judge of us all. I would rather go through this life unrewarded, than to face God in judgment and be found guilty of promotion in sin. No matter what it looks like, YOU do the right thing!
Be Blessed!
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