The 3 vs 30 dilemma

My Aunt Kim recently made a comment that resounded in my heart. Kim is an accomplished academic who has her doctorate in the English Literary field and she recently said "the thing you need to know about school is this: it takes 3 hours to write a "B" paper and 30 hours to write an "A" paper.

This statement made a lot of sense to me as I think back on my college days. The question becomes: Do you do the minimal amount of research and put a small amount of time in to get a good grade or spend nights in the library researching vast amounts of materials and spending hours upon hours writing and re-writing your papers to get an excellent grade?

I was the prototypical "B" student. I knew that I was smart enough to get good grades without trying too hard and I would put the 3 hours I needed into a paper to get somewhere between an A- and B- and then would be on with my life. As I would start a paper I would make a mental scale in my mind, and on one side would be the amount of time it would take to write a thorough, great paper. On the other side would be spending time with my fiancee, hanging out with my roommates, intramural soccer, video games, going out into the city to eat or hang out with friends, general happiness, and sleep...

The paper never won!

I viewed college as a means to an end that would give me the credibility I needed to pursue where I felt God was calling me and I was not emotionally invested in my school work. I also was not a huge fan of the academic community and the general arrogance that flowed out of some of my professors and colleagues (as it turns out, it is possible to love Jesus and not read and write fluent Greek). I think my attitude towards academics was not perfect, and I probably could have gained some had I cared more, but at the end of the day I got a pretty good GPA, had a blast living in Chicago, and don't have many regrets.

Anyways, the reason I write about this is because I believe we often translate this type of attitude towards our relationship with God.

What I mean is, that it is easy to turn our spiritual life into auto-pilate and go to church, do ministry, pray, and study God's word on a minimal level that "gets the job done" but leaves no lasting benefit to us or others.

In the Psalms, David writes "as the deer pants for water so my soul longs after you". I have a dog so I know what it means to pant. when we take our dog to the park, or on long walks by the end she is worn out, her tongue is out, drool is happening, and she is panting with each breath for water. Do I yearn for God like a dog or deer longs for water? Not nearly enough as I should.

Last night I heard Dr. James Macdonald preach on James 1 where James says "if any of you lack wisdom let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach." What is amazing about that statement is that God promises if I need wisdom in a trial to come to him and he will give it to me, and not even hold it against me for asking, yet so often I rely on my own strength, understanding and power which leads to failure and exhaustion.

All that being said, I think if we should strive for excellence in anything it should be in our walks with the Lord and yet so often we turn in "B" or "C" work because we don't care to put the effort in for "A" material.

As I get older I see more and more what a gracious and patient God I serve and am so grateful for his lovingkindness towards me all the time! He is much better to me than I am to Him!

I know this is nothing new to anyone but a good constant reminder none the less.

cal