Commitment to Excellence

If you follow the history of the National Football League, you are probably familiar with Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis' slogan “commitment to excellence”. The slogan seemed quite fitting back when the Raiders won 3 Super Bowls between 1976 and 1983. Now, the once proud franchise (and owner) appear to be in disarray. The team struggles to have a winning record, fires coaches on a routine basis, and is considered a laughing stock of the league.

That only happens out in the “secular” world though, right? Well, the Israelites had a proud history out being God's chosen people that were delivered from bondage and given the promised land. However, they often failed to remember why these great moments in their history occurred and focused on “their” strength (or weakness) instead of relying on God. Many Jews during Jesus' day thought they had everything figured out and wound up missing out on the Messiah, the cornerstone of our faith (Romans 9:33). Another example is Judas, one of the 12 disciples, who wound up selling out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver (Matthew 27:3-10).

Certainly, none of us are perfect and we all lose focus. Peter is a great example of this as he walked on water (Matthew 14:27-30), preached the sermon at Pentecost where 3,000 were saved (Acts 2:38-41), and was crucified upside down because he told the authorities that he was not worthy to die in the same fashion as Jesus. However, at times he lost focus chopping off a Roman soldier's ear (John 18:10), denying Christ 3 times before the crucifixion (John 18:25-27), and wanting to build altars to Moses and Elijah on the mountain instead of focusing on Christ (Mark 9:5-7).

We are told to live in “manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27). Fortunately, we are also given the truth that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). So, are you ready to live a life dedicated to Christ where others see the commitment to excellence you display?