“I should be better.”
“I should know how to respond to a friend’s pain in a way that helps, instead of my clumsy efforts to be logical.”
“I should have the right words and skills, instead of being surpassed by beginners in areas I constantly struggle in.”
It’s not wounded pride we feel as we watch those better than us. It’s not envy. We don’t want our friends to be less than they are; we just know we should be more than what we are.
So we improve. Or try to. Always another level, or task, or skill, lies just out of reach, until the question we’ve ignored for so long finally breaks through our subconscious.
What if I’m never good enough?
For every step I take, someone else is taking two.
For every one thing I learn, there are half-a-dozen things to be improved.
Nothing is ever quite enough.
Enough is Not Enough
Our problem is in the question itself, that little phrase “good enough.”
Because “good enough” is not good enough.
“Good enough” is a comparing game. We pick the best out of various mentors or friends and label it “enough.”
Not only is this a completely arbitrary standard, it’s unfair both to us and them. Everyone has room to improve, even those we think know everything. We need to encourage the growth of those better than us, and not rest during the times we’re better than someone else.
“Good enough” is not exceeding. It’s passing the bare amount needed to succeed.
A Higher Standard
Why aim for “good enough” when we can aim for something better? Why aim, or settle, for anything less than our best?
Only one person can be the best at any given skill, and such a ranking will vary with changing views. But we aren’t called to be the best. We’re called to be our best, and our best is not dependent on our situation, our skill, or what others can do.
We aren’t called to be the best. We’re called to be our best. Click To TweetOur best is striving to our fullest to be what God calls us to be, and to do so while relying on him for strength.
God’s plan for me is not the same as his plan for my friends. His plan for you is not the same as his plan for your mentor. He gives us abilities and places us in situations according to his best plan for our life. Our value and ability to serve is not dependent on how we compare with others or where we rank ourselves in the overall “usefulness” chart.
In the end, we aren’t even dependent on our own strength. As we live and walk in God’s power and grace, he can enable us to accomplish things we’d never dream of tackling on our own.
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