I don’t watch much pro football these days.
It’s not because I don’t enjoy it. I just takes too much time.
Sunday night, however, I did take the time to watch Peyton Manning’s debut with the Denver Broncos. I watched because I love excellence.
Manning did not disappoint. He played a great game. Even having sat out last season injured and starting back with a new team and offense, Manning showed Sunday night why he is regarded by many as the greatest quarterback ever. It was a joy to watch someone perform so excellently.
On Friday afternoon, my associate and I were on our way to court when he mentioned he needed to go to the shoe repair store to have some work done on some shoes. I then began speculating about what it would be like to be a cobbler.
I concluded a cobbler could love his job if he was committed to performing excellent shoe repairs. If, however, a cobbler was only interested in completing shoe repairs and punching a clock it would be an easy job to hate.
Whether it is being a pro football player or a cobbler, excellence is a pleasure to pursue and a joy to watch. There is a reason for this: God is excellent and we are created in His image. Therefore, when we pursue excellence and see it in others it resonates in the best parts of who we are and who we are called to be.
When we are excellent, whether in our jobs, a sport or a hobby, we are emulating the character of Jesus about whom it was said, “Behold, He does all things well.” (Mark 7:37). GS