What do you think?! Are there some things worth doing even if they’re done “poorly”??
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I heard a saying recently on my go-to Christian radio station that really made me pause and think. And in the end.. agree.
What's worth doing, is worth doing poorly.
I'm sure you've heard some other kind of saying like "what's worth doing is worth doing well." I am pretty sure I heard this as a high school student as a make-shift motivator to do my homework with more effort.
But lets think about this...
Are there possibly things that are worth doing, even if it's quote "poorly"?
I can say with my whole heart, yes.
And in fact this is arguably the soap box i've been standing on and preaching from for years!
If scripture study is worth doing, it's still worth doing even if it's only a minute or two.
If praying is worth doing, it's worth giving it any effort you can, even if that effort is small.
If walking or moving your body is worth doing, it's worth doing for a few minutes versus not at all.
Can you see it now??
It's all too easy to fall into the thinking that if we can't do it well, it's not worth doing. And that my friends just simply is not true. And perhaps that is one of the Adversaries great and effective tools of our day.
We see so many people online doing things well, even fantastic.
Or... we see the well and fantastic snippets of those things.
At any rate, with so much to compare our own efforts to, it's no wonder we're walking around feeling like a failure! It's no wonder why we're sure our small or meager efforts never measure up to enough.
But the thing is... small & simple counts. And not only does it count, it adds up over time.
God knows the value of our small, simple, steady, consistent efforts. He realizes the slow drip of good things is GOOD, and maybe even better than one big grand gesture.
What's more effective? brushing your teeth once a week with a weeks worth of toothpaste or taking 1 minute every day with a smaller amount of toothpaste and brushing?
What's more beneficial? Walking 10 minutes every day for a week or walking 70 minutes in one day and not at all the rest of the week?
What's more nourishing? Going all out for a half hour or hour long scripture study session with all the study worksheets and videos and podcasts, or 5 minutes every day for a consistent amount of time?
What grows better flowers? One monsoon watering or a small daily drip of water & sunshine?
You are doing a good job.
Your efforts count and matter and are good.
What is worth doing is worth doing quote "poorly".
Small, simple & steady efforts are well worth your energy.
Your mite is great in the eyes of God.
And these things tend to build momentum with ease when we stop judging ourselves so harshly and lean into the flow of life, thankful and at peace with our small offerings.
I love the story when Jesus fed the 5000.
There was a small boy with his small lunch.
I often wonder what that small boy was thinking when he offered his small lunch to the apostles in an attempt to feed over 5000 hungry people.
I can tell you what he was not thinking. He wasn't thinking "This is too small, it's not worth offering."
No.
Maybe he wasn't sure what the end result would be, maybe he left that up to the mysterious man preaching words that felt good and warm.
And maybe we can do the same.
May we each offer our small lunch without shame or guilt.
But with a heart full of gratitude for whatever that small offering is, knowing that God is the one of actual miracles in and around us. I am pretty sure He can take care of the rest, if you only show up with a willing heart.
You are known.
You are heard.
You are loved.
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