do your best

The principle most often repeated and embraced by just about every discipline, whether Christian or otherwise, is this one: Do your best. Most people understand this to mean "try your hardest". On the most basic level this would be fine as simply a measure of general effort. Yet, for the Olympic runner, who wants to add 1/10th of a second to his time, doing his best means more than simply trying harder. It may involve unlearning years of practice doing something one way in order to find a better way. For the Olympian, then, doing his best is not only trying harder but also training smarter.

Doing our best means being our best. Our best involves focused concentration (mind), physical strain (body) and persevering faith (spirit). In the Bible, this is what the Lord required of His servants:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind (Luke 10:27).

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ (Colossians 3:23-24).

Doing one's best for God involved one's whole being. When our whole spirit, mind and body moves toward a singular purpose, we are doing our best.

Moreover, just as being brave for bravery sake is foolish, so indiscriminately doing one's best in everything can be dangerous and vain. One man excels in theft, another in promiscuity, and yet another at killing other men. There must be a moral dimension to doing one’s best. What worth is the best idler in the world? Wrongful effort can multiply evil, entrench bad habits and hamper true progress. So right motivation, proper instruction and meaningful goals are necessary. Consequently, the power to truly do our best (Acts 17:28; Philippians 4:13) and to attain the best possible outcome comes from the Lord (Psalm 1:2-3; Romans 8:28).

So, how can we encourage and practice this principle?

We must be selective in what we choose to do our best. It is wrong to counsel people to always do their best in everything, as it would be both impossible and foolish. It is wisest to choose those things that most glorify God. Then our efforts would be truly meaningful, and God's providence will ensure ultimate success.

Applying this principle involves endurance, concentration, and determination. We say, "Push yourself!" Your mind, body and spirit must work in harmony to achieve your best outcome. So, learn well, practice hard, adapt wisely, excel humbly, and then repeat the process.

Best is not static. When you do your best, your best will improve, so that you become better. When you do a speed punch, and you try to punch faster than your fastest punch, in time your fastest punch becomes even faster. Doing your best means constantly improving. It often means doing more, and it always means doing better. If you are in the habit of doing 50 push-ups, attempt 55, if 55 then 60. Change your position to make it harder: army dips, diamond push-ups, handstand push-ups, etc.

Doing your best is mostly an attitude. It requires you to possess a teachable spirit, a determined will, and a meaningful cause. When I think about this principle, the song "Burning Heart" from the movie "Rocky IV" comes to mind:

I love the footage of Rocky Balboa training for his match against the Russian champ, Ivan Drago, who had killed Apollo Creed, his coach and best friend, in the ring. The primitive setting, the sweat, the strain, the music - it makes you want to train and to train your hardest. I love the lyrics to the accompanying track:

In the warriors code

There's no surrender

Though his body says stop

His spirit cries - never!

Deep in our soul

A quiet ember

Know it's you against you

It's the paradox

That drives us on...