Accepting Average

I wanted to come to you today and share a few enlightenments that I have come across these last few days. I went to hear OSU head football coach Urban Meyer speak this week, and he spurred a few thoughts on. My mind has been running with them since. I have felt for so long that we, as a people, get stuck in a rut. We accept average in our lives and the lives of the people we care about. The truth is, average is accepted all over the world in every place we look. We can go into restaurants, work places, and churches, and we will see average at an alarming level. 

You may ask, like I did, how can anyone say what average is? Actually, average is an easy thing to explain. It is the median or mean of a group of people. My brother said it in his April 12th teaching from the "On the Rock" series, “You are the average of the 5 people you hang around with the most.” Who do you hang around? Average is a “C” if we take it to school. Average is a person who settles for whatever comes to them. Average is something that people don’t have to work for; it just happens. I could go on and on about what average is, but you get the point. We accept average way too often and with great relief. 

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Why do we accept this average? I first want to think on why we accept average in ourselves. I believe there are a few reasons. The first is we, as a society, are so busy. I know this is one of my biggest ones I deal with. When someone asks me, “How’s it going?” Almost always, the first thing out of my mouth is, “Busy”. We are the ones that make ourselves busy. The problem is most of the business is doing nothing productive. We spin our wheels constantly, not going anywhere. My prayer every night is to do as much as I can the next day that will be productive and efficient. Unfortunately, I know I could cut things out; we are learning this daily. We can use this little word that can help in this, NO. We have to be picky about what we say yes to. If we say yes to anything and everything, we will soon be average in a whole lot of things we just couldn’t respond to with a “NO”. 

Another reason we accept average in ourselves is because of comfort. We have such a fear of putting ourselves out there or blazing a trail. We have found comfort in life. One thing that can stifle us with what we can truly accomplish is comfort. Here in America, it seams as though instead of striving for the things we should like winning the lost or feeding the hungry, we strive for comfort. Now I don’t want to offend anyone here, but at the same time, just go with me on this little thought process. Why is it we work? Do we work to propel ourselves into our lives, or do we work so that we can have money, the true answer to all of your problems? Or is money just causing us to try to find more comfort? We, as a society, seem to work for the weekend and even work toward retirement. I’ve seen so many work so hard in their lives, and I appreciate hard work so much, but you are not dead. You finally get to do what work may have held you back from. There is nothing wrong with comfort. It’s just not what we should strive for. Yet comfort is something we push ourselves to because being uncomfortable and fearful is hard at times. I truly do believe that there is a comfort/peace that surpasses all understanding when you are in the will of God. 

So there are many other reasons we accept average in ourselves, but the last one I want to touch on is focus. Of course, focus is something that our society struggles with. We are truly an ADD society. I see so many self-diagnosis of this that it’s alarming. We have created this in ourselves. We go 150 MPH everyday doing 150 different things that our focus can’t be on any one thing. I know that my wife and I work on our relationship as much as we can. We try to sit down weekly and just be together, but we are still surrounded with hundreds of things to do at work and in the house. It seems as though our focus can never just be in the moment. The only way we can really do that is to get away from our lives to FOCUS on each other. This goes with anything. If we were to focus on any one thing for a long period of time, don’t you think we would be an expert at it? I was told at a very young age, whether this is true or not, that if you spend just one hour a day doing something everyday for a year, you could be an expert at that thing. In our lives, doing anything for an hour a day for a year almost sounds impossible, doesn't it?  I do believe this though. In the famous words of Jackie Chan… “Your Focus Needs More Focus”. I have to schedule into my life what I want to focus on. If I don’t, I won’t do it. I have to literally put it on my schedule. I would venture to say you are the same way. Our focus needs more focus. 

We all have the ability to do amazing and great things. We are not all going to be great at the same things, or we wouldn’t be referred to as a “BODY” by God. We can’t all be fingers and toes, or organs, but we can be above average for whatever part of the body we are. It does take us getting rid of the business, comfort, at times, and self induced ADD. Focus on your part with a vengeance, and when we do that, we will no longer have to just accept average. 

Will this happen overnight? Heck no!!! This is something we will have to commit to. With outside forces wanting to push us back into average and accepting this for outlives, we will be fighting it daily. Don’t give in or give up. I don’t want to accept average. We are not average people. We are a chosen vessel, a royal priesthood. I think I've heard that somewhere, anyhow. Don’t give in to the mundane, to the comfort, or to the average that is pushed on us.  Push through and be the one who will not accept average. Make that a focus in your life. 

I will take this a step further in saying, if we, as a group, decide to stop accepting average, there will be people to follow along. We can create a movement that could change this entire country. It has to start somewhere. Why not with you and me? No more average. Let’s create a movement and not accept average in others. Push each other to get out of our comfort zones and strive for being the very best Body of Christ we can. Find that person that will hold you accountable and that you can do the same for them, and create a movement of AWESOMENESS.  NO MORE ACCEPTING AVERAGE!!!