[293 words]
The Communications Division of Syncrude Canada Ltd. once did research on the danger of completing only 99.9% of some task. Of the many things they studied, their findings on money and the medical world will resonate with us the most (these are but a sample). If only 99.9% of the job is done…
• Two million documents would be lost by the IRS this year
• 22,000 checks would be deducted from the wrong bank accounts in the next 60 minutes
• 880,000 credit cards in circulation would turn out to have incorrect cardholder information on their magnetic strips
• 12 babies would be given to the wrong parents each day
• 20,000 incorrect drug prescriptions would be written in the next 12 months
• 107 incorrect medical procedures would be performed by the end of the day today
This for 99.9%! Imagine how much worse it would be if just 90% was good enough!
The point of all of this is this: What percentage are you putting into your personal Christianity? Perhaps a more telling question would be, What percentage of effort is enough for you? If you are not at least trying to give 100% effort 100% of the time, imagine what is being left undone. Imagine the strides, indeed that impact, that you could make for Christ if you put just a little more into your devotion, your commitment to Him and His mission in this lost and dying world.
Imagine the contribution you could make at the congregation where you attend, or with your family, or with your job.
I leave you with the well-known but often not-listened-to saying of our Lord and Christ, “seek first the kingdom of God” (Matt 6:33).
Are you giving 100 percent? Anything less is unacceptable!
Jesse Wagner
South Green Street church of Christ
Glasgow, KY