If you turn in your Bibles to Genesis 1:1 you'll no doubt read [unless you have one of those funny new bibles...] that "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Continue on and read what God made. Finish up by reading verse 31: "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good."

Now ask yourself this question. Can you look at your last ranger night, or program feature you did and say the same thing? Was it very good.

We are made in God's image - therefore we should be proud of what we do. We should be able to look back and say "My that firecraft lecture was "very good""

If you can't - then you're not trying hard enough.

If we are going to change the lives of the children in our program, and through them the world, then we need to develop a Spirit of Excellence.

Excellence is defined as: "surpassing merit" or to delve down another level "greatly exceeding in commendable quality"

When I was a boy my mother would often quote the age-old adage to me "If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing properly" How right she was. But imagine if we take that a step further - and continuously quoted to ourselves "If this job is worth doing, it's worth doing excellently"

That's why I insist on a quality opening parade in my outpost. If the boys and girls come onto parade sloppily, talking and taking their time about it - I dismiss them and we fall-in again. That's why I will stop and wait for silence and attention if I am speaking. That's why I will cancel an item for a Council of Achievement if it doesn't reflect the capacity of those preparing it.

We need to remember that we serve God in all we do, and we should remember that we are made in his image, in his likeness by his hand. We have the capacity to do things with excellence. We shouldn't settle for second best. It should be done excellently. A side benefit of this is that others are attracted to work with those who have a spirit of excellence. You'll need a waiting list for leaders - problems in recruiting leaders will be a thing of the past!

Will you leave "ok" behind and strive for excellence?

(Check out the devotion on this subject too).