by Heath Adamson
A Rolls Royce is an extremely expensive automobile. What makes it so expensive? Why would a person pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a car? It takes 6 months to make and is handmade by 4,500 people. Only 63,000 people in the U.S. can afford one. It receives 10 coats of hand sprayed paint. It has a one million mile odometer. It only takes 13 hours to build a Toyota. Toyotas are great cars but they don’t drive for a million miles. In the automobile industry, the key to going the long haul is paying attention to detail, putting in the time and doing things with excellence. I believe that excellence is a determining factor to our leadership making it to the “millionth mile.” Often, royalty travels from afar to witness excellence. This is evidenced in the story of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.
“But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard. “
1 Kings 10:7 (NIV)
The excellence of Solomon’s kingdom took the Queen of Sheba’s breath away. The way he developed his team, his facility, how he handled his money and how knowledgeable he was. all contributed to her astonishment. It affected the queen in such a way that she came to the church for answers. At the end of the day, we want to honor our God and King with our best. He deserves it. Excellence isn’t always being the best; it is doing your best with what you have in your hand. A heart committed to God is the key to excellence.
Historically, excellence has been used as a title of honor. It is derived from the word excel and means to be better or surpass. Excellence is a message that speaks into the lives of students, parents, communities and churches that what we are doing is important enough to take the time to do it well.
Excellence is doing your job better than expected. The quality of your product will be remembered long after the price of it has been forgotten.
Excellence is giving attention to the smallest detail. “Race horses that can run one second faster than the other is worth many times more than the others.” John Hess said “It is the small things that causes us to do well.”
Leading with excellence is a key in standing out for His glory in today’s chameleon culture.
