How many times have you said to your child, grandchild, or student, “Do your best”? It almost goes without saying that most children hear this quite often from at least one or two people in their lives.

In the New Testament we find a discussion about whether to eat meat sacrificed to animals, wherein the bottom line on this decision was based on a person’s conscience as well as the conscience of those watching them. And supporting that decision, the Apostle Paul gave this directive: “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

I especially like the way Paul puts it, “do it all for the glory of God.” That provides a much greater incentive than to say “Do your best.” It also puts a different slant on defining “best.” What might be best in our friends’ eyes might not be best in God’s eyes.

I also like his use of the word “whatever.” Doing our best doesn’t apply only to the situation over eating meat sacrificed to animals, or to a specific race or performance, it applies to anything and everything we attempt to do.

How do we teach our children to do their best? First, we must set the example of excellence, of doing our best at every level of our lives for the glory of God. And when we fail, we need to allow them to see that we recognize that we have failed God, accept his forgiveness, and resolve to do better with God’s help. By doing this, we free our children to recognize and their own failures and call on God to inspire and help them to do their best.

Children need to learn early on to let God be their measuring stick instead of their peers. Unfortunately, many adults still struggle to learn this lesson. Let us set our eyes on Jesus and aim to walk closer to him every day of our lives. Only then can we truly do our best to glorify God in all we do.

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash