VIRTUE (DARE TO DO EXCELLENT THINGS)

A man was given a project by his father to plan and oversee the building of a house in a choice location whilst he embarked on a journey out of the country. The father gave him a good sum of money to execute the project without lacking anything necessary while he entrusted this all-important project into his hands hoping that in due time, the son would have seen to the erection of a good house with the best of resources and work force. The son instead handled the job carelessly. He bought the cheapest materials, hired substandard work force and did a scruffy job even though the house looked good on the outside; it obviously couldn’t survive the slightest storm. When the father came back, he was taken to the house by the son. The father took the keys of the house and handed them over to the son officially announcing to him that the house was meant for him and he wanted to surprise him. The son immediately broke down and started crying! Of course you should have deduced right why he was crying because he knew the kind of wishy-washy job he had done. Now he wished he had done a more thorough job. How he regretted!

Do you know that God requires us to do excellent things?  Do you know that God expects us to do things properly and put in our very best into whatever we do? Do you know that God wants our workmanship or craftsmanship to be worthy of commendation by all? Listen, He says in 2 Pet 1:5 that …And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue. The word virtue here refers to excellence that is, the art of doing excellent things; it also means manliness that is the act of flexing your muscles or expending your energy on something to see to it that you get the very best result. It is the mindset whereby you do things excellently well the first attempt or at least give it your best as though you would have no other chance even if you had a million other chances. 

Men and women of virtue have built a mentality of doing things that stand out from the rest, they like to do a thorough job not as in competing but rather carrying out their assignments or tasks with praiseworthiness that makes people wanna come back to them! Virtue is an attribute God says if you have amongst other attributes and you possess in great measures; you will neither be barren or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ! Wow! Noteworthy, the word “knowledge” used here was not referring to everyday knowledge of science or arts that you get from books, school and the stuffs you see around. It’s a kind of knowledge that brings the knower of the word into the live experience of what the word talks about that is, if you found out from the scripture that you are blessed or healed, virtue with the other attributes listed will cause you to live in the realm of that knowledge. It’s a higher kind of knowledge called “epignosis” or experiential knowledge! And yes! Virtue can put you in that realm of life if you cultivate it and practice it!

Ask yourself, how do I handle life? How do I handle the things that concern me, my ministry, my primary purpose and assignment in life, my family, my career, my finances, my projects? Do I just speed through it to get it done with (let my people go, lol) without giving it my best input? Be honest!

If your answer is positive and you think you have been doing your best so far but you are probably working for or with someone or a group ask yourself, how would I have handled this job if no one was watching or supervising me? I have seen people who run up and down trying to impress their bosses or leader even in church! The moment they are left alone, they retire back to their lazy, lackadaisical attitude forgetting that the bible says in Col 3:23  ^“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men”. That is even if you are working for the government or anybody and you give it your very best as unto the Lord, you get a greater reward from God asides your normal pay whether supervised or not!  And when the time comes for someone to work for you, you will find yourself hiring honest, diligent and trustworthy people because you have sown the right seeds in the place of your service! It’s a spiritual principle and a law that always works!

No matter how little that project seems, dare to give it your very best. Remember just like the parable of the talents that if you are faithful over seemingly little things, you can be entrusted with greater things. Virtue is art of doing things excellently the first time without intentions to repeat it again even if you had other options. You make up your mind that you’ll hit the target at the first strike and if you have such attitude towards life, something will pull you above the crowd. It’s called the grace of God! Prov 22:29 says “ Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.” another translation says he’ll be worthy of the company of kings. So you stop fantasizing about sitting among the crème de la crème of the society while you fold your arms lazily or handle life like you had nine of it! There’s a bible way God is reminding you now!

I came across a video about ants recently that astounded me and I posted it below. I was amazed at how much far smaller and inferior creatures in strength and reasoning can achieve so much and have their lives thoroughly planed out by diligence and hard work. No wonder the bible referred specially to them in Prov 6:6-10 (you should check it out, it motivated me a whole lot and I am sure it will do the same for you)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyBf3GcGX64

Understand something, Daniel was a man who had the spirit of excellence in him such that even among princes and nobles, he stood out; his case was best described as the best among the best but time and again, the bible showed us that he was a diligent man and was consistent in his fellowship with God. If you are born again, you have the spirit of excellence in you; it came with the salvation package. You were born again with the seed of greatness and have something better than what Daniel had- you have the Holy Ghost! Can you be diligent to grow this seed of greatness by studying and meditating on God’s word, fellowshipping with His Spirit and making up your mind to be diligent in all you do? No you’re not just going to pray and expect the job to do itself, you will pray like it all depends on that and work like it all depends on that! It’s not a life of struggle; it’s called diligence or virtue!

Check out men and women who were hallmarked in the of hall of fame of faith, they were “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord”(Rom 12:11) apart from the anointing of God on their lives, they manifested it not by sitting back and just watching but by fighting the good fight of faith and bringing out that treasure in them through diligence. David didn’t just kill Goliath and defeat nations, the bible records that he behaved himself wisely always so did Abraham and all the others! They were diligent and full of virtue! Do you know you are anointed? Yes you are whether you are a clergy or not. The anointing refers to “a smearing” which took place when you received Jesus and the Holy Ghost came to take permanent residence in you and now the bible says you have an unction from the holy one and you know all things (1 John 2:20,27) so it’s not a question of whether you can do it or not (Oh yeah! You can do all things!) But it’s a question of how diligent are you? Can you be trusted with something and excellent results expected of you? Do you want to be successful in this life? If your answer is yes, then make up your mind that each time you are given an assignment or project no matter how small, you will give it your best and do it excellently and thoroughly. You will not only have made others happy but 1. You will be fulfilling the word of God 2. You are building your life for greatness 3. Excellence will be your trademark 4. It’s only a matter of time before nations will look for you 5. You will stand before kings 6. You build a legacy for people; you become a role model for both younger and older generations. The list is endless

Maybe your case is that you always give in your best but you are never noticed or appreciated or you still don’t really meet up, if you are born again then keep at it dear! It’s only a matter of time before your profiting becomes evident to all. If you are not born again, remember that it’s the Holy Spirit that imparts this excellent Spirit into a man’s life. All you need do is say yes to Jesus and the Holy Spirit will come and take permanent residence in you; do that right now by saying this prayer  “oh Lord God, I come to you in the name of Jesus Christ. I believe that you sent Him to die for me and to bring me eternal life. I confess His lordship over my life and I receive eternal life into my spirit now. Thank you dear Father for saving me; I am born again now in the name of Jesus.”

If you said this prayer or you were born again prior to this time, understand that  the Spirit of excellence is in you and just make up your mind to do excellent things. Put the gift of God in you to work, do things properly, do your research well, give it your best and watch out for what God will do with you and the kind of level you will be functioning. BE A MAN OR WOMAN OF VIRTUE, DO EXCELLENT THINGS, DARE TO BE DIFFERENT!!!