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Are You Doing Your Best?
Mark 14:8
Introduction
God exhorts us to do all for the glory of God (1 Cor.
10:31) and to work at whatever we do with all our heart (Col.
3:23).
And, we are to “do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Col.
3:17). 2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved …” We read of our need to test our own actions (Gal.
6:4) and to “run in such a way as to get the prize … not like someone running aimlessly” (1 Cor.
9:24-27).Certainly verses like these suggest that we give God our best.
What It Does Not Mean to Give God Your Best
1) Doing or giving our best is not to gain merit with God, for salvation or otherwise.
Scripture makes it clear that all our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isa.
64:6).
We all fall short of the glory of God (Rom.
3:23).
We are saved by grace through faith, not by our good works (Eph.
2:8-9).
We live our lives in Him just as we received Him — by grace through faith (Col.
2:6).
2) Doing or giving our best is not about getting applause for a job well done.
Our objective should be to honor God, to in every way “make the teaching about God our Savior attractive” (Titus 2:10).
We should do that whether or not we receive recognition.
— “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters …” (Col.
3:23)
3) Doing or giving our best is not about self-effort.
Jesus said, “apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn.
15:5).
No matter how excellent we perform on our own, apart from His power at work in us, we will come short.
As a branch draws its sustenance from the vine, so we must abide in Christ to bear eternal fruit.
Remember verses like Philippians 4:13.
— “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
We must “strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works” in us (Col.
1:29).
We are at our best when we put all of who we are into all of who He is and watch Him work through us.
We’ve considered what giving God our best does not mean.
In the next post we’ll look at what it does mean.
What it Means to Give God Your Best
1) Your best involves giving God your total being.
Jesus quoted the greatest commandment as loving the Lord “with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt.
22:37).
The whole of who we are is the best we can give Him which is why this site refers to our best fit in ministry as that which involves all of who we are.
To give God only a part of ourselves falls short of loving Him with “all” of who we are.
To present ourselves to “as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” as commanded in Romans 12:1, is only reasonable in light of what God has done for us.
2) Your best involves giving God your first of everything.
Throughout the Old Testament we read of the Israelites giving God the first fruits and the best of the flock.
We serve the same God, still worthy of the first and best of our time, efforts, and resources.
To give Him leftover or misdirected time and energy isn’t giving Him the best He deserves.
3) Your best involves giving God your most superior work.
To give God a half-hearted or sloppy effort falls short of doing whatever we do “for the glory of God” (1 Cor.
10:31).
How can we be “a workman who does not need to be ashamed” if we inaccurately represent Him (2 Tim.
2:15) because we didn’t take the time required to get it right?
In light of these three points, we must conclude that to give God our best, we can’t compartmentalize our lives — God time, me time, work time, family time.
All of our lives, at all times and in every way, must be seen as God time.
Wherever we are and in whatever we do, we do it all to the glory of God!
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