It is good to be the best you can be. It is noble to attempt to maximize your potential and to make the greatest good on even the least gift. God calls each one of us to be faithful stewards of all that he has entrusted to us. Yet there is a world of difference between being the best you can be and wanting to be known as the best.
Each of us has been given much and has been given far more than we deserve. It is appropriate that we do our utmost to maximize our opportunities and grow our skills. After all, to the one to whom much is given, much will be required. Paul told Timothy to fan into flame the gift of God, and each one of us should fan our glowing embers into roaring flames. Each one of us should make good on what God has given us.
As an example from my own life, it is good for me to grow in my skill as a writer. It is good for me to become more capable in my mastery of language, more able in my ability to communicate, and more skillful in writing with clarity and precision. It is good to read books about writing, good to read excellent writers, and good to become the absolute best writer I can be.
However, I don’t think it would be wise for me to want to be known for it. I don’t think it would be helpful for me to desire acclaim. So there’s the tension: It is good to grow in my skill, but unwise to want my reputation to be for that skill. Why is that? Essentially because skill can be an end in and of itself, but the bigger and better purpose in my writing should always be to bless and serve others.
Consider, for example, a young man who is enrolled in seminary. He is taking his first preaching course and is eager to learn to properly handle the word of God. It is good for him to want to become an excellent preacher and good for him to become the absolute best preacher he can be. But it is not good for him to want to be known for it. It is not healthy for him to long to establish a reputation for his preaching. That’s because the longing to be a great preacher is a longing to serve others while the longing to have the reputation of a great preacher is essentially a longing to validate himself.
Or think of the young mother who is raising a child in a social media world. It is good for her to want to be the best mother she can be and good for her to grow in every skill. But it is not good for her to want to be known by others as the best mother. Why? Because the first longing will be directed at doing good to her children while the second longing will be directed at doing good to her own reputation. The first will be directed toward her child while the second will be directed toward her followers.
How can you know if you are thinking about this improperly? First, you will be longing to hear people speak of your skill—you will crave that kind of affirmation. Second, you will be jealous or envious when you hear people speak of someone else’s skill since their affirmation will challenge your own.
How might you respond when you identify this in yourself? Before anything else, focus on a better goal—the best goal of all, which is serving others. You don’t need to wow others with your skill; you just need to serve them by pointing them to Christ. And then you need to affirm people in your field who are better than you are. You should thank God for the skill he has given them and be content with what he has given you, even if it is substantially less. Remember that whatever he has given you is a gift from the hand of the King. Far be it from you to reject his gift and demand someone else’s. You, like each of us, need to be willing to consider that you may be one of the one-talent servants rather than the one who received the full five.
And so it is good and right to grow in your skill and it is good and right to maximize your potential. Yet the main matter in life is not attempting to be someone else and not longing for what God has given to another. It is not being known for your reputation. The main matter in life is simply being who God has called you to be. And I am certain you will find there is a lifetime of challenge in that!
