We’ve been talking about choices a lot lately. Why? Because making wise choices is a big part of living a better story. Our lives are made up of the choices we make. 

Here is what we’ve said so far:

Choice # 1 is to Love God

Choice # 2 is to Love People

Today’s choice is to Pursue Excellence.

I visited a nearby church a few years ago that places a high value on excellence. It was evident everywhere you looked. Because of it, you felt welcomed and comfortable. You felt like they were intentional. While it was hard to put my finger on at first, I left that church reminded me that excellence matters — a lot.

Think about this: God created this whole world and said, “It is good.” He designed everything with intentionality. I know some who read this are into the design shows on TV. Go ahead and admit it, you’ve been thinking about buying shiplap!

God is the ultimate designer. He is into the details. He cares about how things are done. Because of this, details and excellence should matter to us as well.

Ever since the fall, there has been a natural drift away from order and excellence. Things naturally deteriorate and drift from the ideal. It’s part of life on this earth. 

Yet, as followers of Jesus, we can choose to live lives of excellence. We can join God in bringing order to the chaos.

Pursuing Excellence

Do things well.

Whatever you set your mind to, do it really well. 

Daniel, who we read about in the Old Testament, did things well. 

“Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other presidents and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.” Daniel 6:3 

Daniel didn’t cut corners. He served with excellence, and it set him apart from the rest of the crowd. He gave him incredible influence i.

Invest your time wisely.

(And respect other people’s time!)

We talked about adding value to people in another post. One way to do this is to respect their time. 

“Time is your most precious gift because you only have a set amount of it.”  — Rick Warren

“Serve God by doing common actions in a heavenly spirit, and then, if your daily calling only leaves you cracks and crevices of time, fill them up with holy service.”  — Charles Spurgeon

“So, then, be careful how you live. Do not be unwise but wise, making the best use of your time because the times are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” Ephesians 5:15-17

Put people ahead of personal preference. 

Paul reminds us in Philippians 2 to put other’s needs ahead of our own. The point is people.

“Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.” Philippians 2:1-4

Excellence doesn’t require more money or other resources. It just comes down to a choice. So today, strive for excellence, not perfection.

A few days ago I started a conversation about choices. Our lives are shaped choices or decisions we make. Choices, even small ones, change the course of our lives in pretty significant ways.

Today, I want to highlight the 2nd of 4 choices that I believe could make a big difference in your life. These four choices are simple but powerful.

Choice # 1 is to Love God

Choice # 2 is to Love People

It’s impossible to read the gospels without seeing that Jesus loved people. He modeled it. 

In fact, in Mathew 9, we find Jesus passing through a city that was jam-packed. He could have kept going. He could have stayed “on mission”. Yet the Bible says that Jesus saw the crowd and had compassion for them. That word “compassion” literally means that he felt for them in his core. 

He didn’t just see a crowd. He saw people.

The Apostle Paul, one of the early leaders in the church, had a similar take on people. In one of the letters he wrote to a group of churches, he said, “We loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. ” (1 Thessalonians 2:8) 

This choice is powerful. What I’ve found is that real life change happens in the context of relationships.

Loving Others Well

1. See the potential in people.

John Maxwell suggests that we put a 10 on someone’s forehead when we meet them. What this means is you rate them a 10 on a scale of 1-10. Instead of looking for what’s wrong, you choose to assume the best about them and believe the best about them. 

2. Speak life into them.

One of the greatest gifts you can give another person is to speak words of life and affirmation into them. Most people, regardless of how secure they look on the outside, are wrestling with severe insecurities on the inside of them. 

It is not uncommon for a leader to tell me behind closed doors that they feel like an imposter. They live as though one day, they’ll be “found out.”

You can speak words of life into the person and describe the potential you see inside of them.

3. Add value to them.

Try to go into every interaction you have with others with the mindset that you want to add value to them instead of taking it away from them. Connect with others. Point them to great resources. Seek to help bring a positive change in their life.

The best way I know to do this is to openly speak of the things of God with them.

I got a text this week from a really good friend who wore one of my Your Story Matters shirts to a local coffee shop. The phrase on the shirt opened the door to talk about Jesus. That’s a fantastic way to love people. 

I’ll close with this. Loving people isn’t always easy. 

Here’s what I’ve learned:

The closer we are to God, the easier it is to love the people He loves.

So that’s decision two. I’m going to choose to love God. And I’m going to choose to love people. It’ll make all the difference in the world.