Hey everybody, and welcome back to the Set Your Mind Above Podcast! I’m your host BJ Sipe – I’m a Christian, a preacher, a husband, and a father. In this podcast we take everyday, ordinary events and explore how they can teach us extraordinary, eternal truths. I’m so glad that you joined me for this episode. Now, let’s open up our minds, our hearts, and our Bible’s together.
Today I had the pleasure of getting on a video call with a new friend named Brady Cook. Brady had reached out to me a few days ago, and as it turns out we run in a lot of the same circles. I would mention guys like Ryan Goodwin & Colton McDaniel, but I’m not one to name drop. But in all seriousness, I was really looking forward to getting on this call today because of Brady’s level of expertise regarding online outreach. While he has been working in the tech scene for the past decade in addition to preaching, more recently Brady has dedicated a lot of his efforts to running something called Diakonos Marketing. Diakonos Marketing works to help churches with their online outreach, and how to use their websites as more of an evangelistic tool in their communities. Through different things like a custom website design, search engine optimization, targeted ads, consultation regarding social media efforts, and much more, he was able to help me understand so many different things that we can do better in the future for our church here in Danville. I took a ton of notes, and we spent a lot of time just doing question and answer about different efforts that we are currently engaged in here. One of my questions specifically was regarding videography, and I asked if he had any experience in that sector. He replied that we probably were around the same level of knowledge there, and that he also was self-taught as I am. We spent a few minutes talking about how I wished that I had more time to hone my craft with shooting my own videos, but that between a family, my other studies and sermon prep, I just don’t have the time to really pour into it and make it exceptional. His response stopped me in my tracks, as he spoke up and said, “Well, there was a saying that if I’m not mistaken Facebook had painted across one of their walls at headquarters, and it says ‘Done is better than perfect’ – and I really think that might apply here.” Wow. Done is better than perfect. We ended our call and that expression kept running through my mind. As it turns out the statement is originally attributed to Sheryl Sandberg, who is an American business executive, billionaire, and philanthropist who was for a period of time the chief operating officer of Facebook (hence the wall). At least for the past several months, I have put off a lot of my video efforts because they just simply were not up to my standards. I wanted them to be better, exceptional, even perfect in fact. But I’m not at a place where they can be what I want them to be right now, so I did nothing. But here’s the kicker…doing nothing is guaranteed to produce nothing. No edification, no outside interest, nothing. I really think there is a lot of truth to the notion then that getting something done is better than doing nothing because it’s not perfect. I have to laugh, it honestly reminds me of the classic Wayne Gretzky quote, “You miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take”. And he was right. You might not accomplish what you set out to do at the start, and maybe you didn’t score like you had hoped…but at least you did something.
In yesterdays podcast, we spent some time talking about how Jesus wants a true commitment from each and every single one of us, and today we want to follow up on that thought. We want to approach it from two angles: why someone never decides to start following Jesus, and why someone never takes on new challenges in their discipleship to Christ. Let’s begin with the first one: why some never make the commitment to Jesus in the first place. I remember having conversations with individuals in the past who when asked why they have not obeyed the gospel yet, though they know their need to be saved & how to be saved, said something along the lines of, “I just don’t know if I’m ready yet.” To that response I would always ask, “What do you think would make you ready?” Though answers would vary, usually it came down to the same foundational issue: they wanted to have everything perfect before they came to Jesus. To such an individual grace is something that is lost on them and difficult to understand. Why would God accept them as a sinner, who is still working through their struggles? No, they’ve got to fix all their problems – and then they’ll come to Jesus. Here’s the problem with that: if that is your mindset, you’ll never come to Jesus because you will never be perfect. You are a sinner, and our struggle against sin will never cease while we remain in this body. So what do we do? Consider what Paul says to the Philippians in 3:12-16, “Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. Therefore, let all of us who are mature think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained.” You will never be sinless or perfect on this side of heaven, that will only be attained in the resurrection. But you know what you can do? You can do your best right now, and press on toward the upward call of Christ Jesus. Will you be perfect? No – and you can’t be! But you know what you will be? Saved by the blood of Jesus. In this instance, done is most certainly better than perfect, because perfect will never happen on this side of heaven. But secondly, let’s talk about discipleship. Why is it that so often in our walk with Christ we are unwilling to take on new challenges? We are so unwilling to get out of our comfort zone and do something new. The idea of talking to someone about Jesus all on our own terrifies many, because after all, I am not a preacher – what if I don’t know what to say? Or the idea leading a song for the first time, or visiting someone for the first time, or organizing an event or teaching a class for the first time terrifies many, because what if I mess it up? What if I get it wrong? Here’s the deal: you probably will, and that’s okay! Done is better than perfect. Doing nothing will certainly yield nothing, but by at least doing something you have a starting point to grow from, and whose to say that what you’re already doing won’t bear fruit as it is right now? I’m reminded of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, where the master of the house goes on a long journey and leaves different amounts of money to be managed by three different servants. One is given 5 talents, another 2, and another 1. When the master returned, he found the one given the 5 talents had turned it into 10, and the one given 2 talents had turned it into 4. But look at the last servant in vv. 24-25, “The man who had received one talent also approached and said, ‘Master, I know you. You’re a harsh man, reaping where you haven’t sown and gathering where you haven’t scattered seed. So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’” This servant was chastised and then severely disciplined for his unwillingness to do anything out of fear. My friends, don’t bury your talent. Don’t let fear of failure or not doing something perfectly keep you from action. Also, don’t compare yourself to those around you or to the work that others have done, just do the best with what you have and where you are at. That is all that God expects. He seeks genuine commitment and he seeks action, not perfection. Done is better than perfect.
Thank you for tuning in to today’s episode, and I would invite you back Tuesdays-Fridays for a brand-new episode each day. If you haven’t already, be sure to find us on Facebook for occasional announcements and special video sessions. If you have benefited from this podcast, please if you’re able be sure to share it with someone else that you think could benefit from it as well. Until next time, know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each & every day set our minds above.