Why Not Your Best?

A well-dressed gentleman stepped from a taxi cab in New York whistling half-heartedly as he collected his briefcase and umbrella. A newsboy, just a few feet away, listened for a brief moment and said, “You’re not much of a whistler are you? Listen to how good I am!”

When the newsboy finished, he asked the gentleman, “Can you do better?”

“Indeed I can,” came the reply. The man was an expert whistler who was in New York for a performance. And then he whistled his very best to the astonishment of the young newsboy.

Puzzled, the young boy looked at him and then asked, “Why were you doing so poorly when you got out of the cab?”

Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes to challenge God’s followers to live lives with meaning and purpose. “Whatever you do,” he wrote, “do well!” He very clearly and convincingly encourages us to enjoy life as a gift from God and to focus on doing our very best – always, If you are a whistler, whistle the best you can all of the time – not only during a “performance” in front of an audience. After all, we are all “performing” whatever we do before God our Creator. We are always on “stage” demonstrating our gratitude for the gifts He’s given us.

We must always be aware of the fact that no matter where we are or what we are doing we are responsible to bring honor and glory to God. We must always “do well.”

Prayer: Lord of our lives, it is never what we have, but what we do with what You have given us. May we do our best with each of the gifts You have given us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might;