Anything worth doing is worth doing right. I’m not sure where that quote is from, but my Dad gets credit for saying it millions of times while I was growing up. Whether it was cleaning my room, arranging some flowers, or mowing a lawn, you do it right the first time, and do it with excellence, because Dad said so!
It is important for believers to realize that we represent Christ on the earth. We are his ambassadors, or representatives, and when the world (those who don’t know Christ yet) looks at us, they should see a good facsimile of who Jesus is. That kind of puts the pressure on – but in this case, it is good pressure! We should be much more than mediocre. We should be much more committed than average. We should be people of impeccable integrity and character. We should be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, not only when people are watching, but every moment of every day.
As big as I am on making things look good on the outside, that certainly isn’t the heart of the issue. The heart is the most important issue. We all know that just changing outward circumstances doesn’t make a change on the inside. Real, lasting, effective change happens from the inside out. That usually means making some adjustments, changing our thinking, controlling our thought life, and making the decision to live and serve others with excellence. What happens on the inside, will dramatically change what people see on the outside.