When Your Good Ain't Good Enough

Mediocrity was never accepted in the Armstrong household as my brother and I were growing up. Not putting forth our best effort was synonymous with not trying, and as harsh as that may sound, it was certainly a way to build character. This does not mean slink to lowered expectations because everyone else did; rather, being great meant stepping out and making the behind-the-scenes sacrifices that no one else saw. I was a pretty lousy athlete and an average (at best) musician, but I studied intelligently (even in the ‘90s, there was a difference in studying hard and studying smart) and put that ridiculous work ethic to use in order to become the man I am today. Am I perfect? I think it is pretty obvious that I have made mistakes and err from time to time, yet I try to learn from those flaws and push continuously to be better daily.

In Genesis 4:1-7, brothers Cain and Abel were the first sons of Adam and Eve. One worked the ground (Cain), and the other (Abel) tended to the animals. Over the course of time – and good parenting from Adam and Eve – the brothers began to offer the fruits of their labor to God. With each offering, God respected the boys’ efforts. One day, Cain brought his customary gift to the altar while Abel gave the Lord a young goat with its untrimmed fat as his sacrifice. We pit masters all know that when fat renders over a flame, the meat will eventually taste better in the end. Hence “the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savor:  all the fat is the Lord’s.” (Leviticus 3:16) It was through Abel’s faith that God rewarded his offering over that which Cain presented because it was his best.

Naturally, Cain was upset after seeing that his offering was not good enough. When he should have done better and taken the lesson to always bring his A game to God, Cain instead chose to wallow around in anger and jealousy. You know what happened next? In verse 8, as he and Abel talked in the field, he committed the first homicide by killing his brother!

God does reward our best efforts. Strive for the true Number One and not what we think is good enough.