Have An Excellent Spirit
So be patient! God’s promise is indeed true. Do not let yourself be upset by those who have no conviction. (Qur’an, 30:60).
We are in a society where mediocrity is the norm. Many people do not take pride in their work and pride in who they are. If somebody is watching, they will perform one way but when nobody is not watching, they will cut corners and take the easy way out. If you are not careful, you will get pulled into this same mentality, thinking that it is okay to for example show up late to work, not look your best and not give it your all.
However, the fact is that God does not bless mediocrity. God blesses excellence. Excellent spirit does the right thing whether anyone is watching or not; goes the extra mile; does more than he has to. Other people may complain; they may go out looking sloppy, cutting corners, but excellent spirit does not sink down to that level.
Know that you are not everybody. You are a cut above. You are called to be excellent. Almighty God wants you to set the highest standard. You should be the example your company uses as the model employee. Do not be dissuaded by others. Be careful.
Be patient, for God’s promise is true, and do not be dissuaded by those who do not have certainty. (Qur’an, 30:60).
When you have an excellent spirit like that, you are not only going to see promotion but you are honoring Almighty God. It is piety, piousness, revering the Lord; it is “Taqwa“. God wants us to be pious, to be virtue. He says,
“O you who believe, revere God (and be wary of God). as He deserves to be revered.” (Qur’an, 3:102).
It is honors God to go to work on time, to go out looking your best. When you are excellent, your life is giving praise to God.
Anyone who reverences God, He makes everything easy for him. This is God’s command that He sends down to you. Anyone who reverences God, He remits his sins, and rewards him generously. (Qur’an, 65:4-5).
God does not reword sloppiness. God rewords excellence. When you do more than what required of you, you will see God’s goodness in a new way.
Some people will never come to mosque. They will never listen to a minister or cleric. They are not reading Qur’an. They are reading your life. They are watching how you live. So being excellent in your life is one of the best witnesses you could ever have.
When you have a spirit of excellence, you do more than you have to. You may say, “I am declaring Gods favor.” It is great but not enough. That is one part of it but the second part is: Are you getting to work on time? Are you doing more than you have to? Are you better this year than you were last year?
Know that you live in a very competitive marketplace.
Therefore, you shall race towards forgiveness from your Lord and the garden of paradise whose width is equal to the vastness of the heavens and the earth altogether, and is prepared for those who believe in God and His Messengers. That is the grace of God, which He bestows on whom He wills; and God is dispenser of a great grace. (Qur’an, 57:21).
If you are at the same skill level today that you were five years ago, you are at a disadvantage. Imam Al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said, “a person who his two days are the same is at a disadvantage.”1 You need to take steps to grow. Whatever you do get better at it.
Do not get stagnant. An excellent person keeps growing. There is always room for improvement. You can always get better; more effective, more skilled; make in a greater difference. You are always taking steps to improve and looking for ways that you can be better. Favor and excellence go hand in hand. Increase, promotion, reaching your highest potential, it is all tied to a spirit of excellence.
God Almighty made you as a person of excellence. May be all you have seen modeled is mediocrity but God is calling you to a higher standard. He is going to take you places you have never dreamed of, but you have to do your part and stir up the excellence that is on the inside.
Do not make excuses. No, take this challenge to come up to a higher level of excellence. Even in your personal appearance; how you dress, how you present yourself, how you keep your clothes clean and something like these. Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his pure progeny) said, “Cleanliness is a sign of faith.”2
Indeed God loves those who keep clean. (Qur’an, 2:222).
Try to be order. As Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said, “I will all of you to observe piety and order.”3 God does not like sloppiness. Make sure you still look good for your children, for your spouse. When you have this spirit of excellence, you do the right thing not because somebody is watching you, not because they are making you do it.
You do it to honor God. You do just for the sake of God like the pious and the righteous;
they give food to the needy, the orphan and the prisoner (and say): “We feed you only for the sake of God. We do not want any reward from you or any thanks.” (Qur’an, 76:8-9).
Sometimes you have to say, “God, I do not feel like doing this but I am going to do it onto you.” You should do your best just for the sake of God and it is passing the test to see His favor. Some people are not seeing God’s favor, as they should because they are not passing the small test.
Being excellent may not be some huge adjustment you need to make. Here is the key: “I do not want something small to keep God from releasing big into my life.” Anytime God asks you to do something if you will obey, a reward will follow.
Therefore, whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it. (Qur’an, 99:7).
More than that:
Whoever brings virtue shall receive ten times its like. (Qur’an, 6:160).
That is what happens when, number one you honor God with your life and number two you have a spirit of excellence. You do not compromise; you do not just go with the flow and do whatever everybody else is doing. You make the most excellent decision like Moses (peace be upon him) how made the most excellent decision and God Almighty rewarded him.
When he arrived at the well of Midiyan, he found there a throng of people watering their flocks, and he found, besides them, two women holding back their flock. He said, “What is your business?” They said, “We do not water our flock until the shepherds have driven out their flocks, and our father is an aged man.” (Qur’an, 28:23).
What did Moses do? He was not oblivious to them. He helped them for the sake of God.
He watered their flock for them. Then he withdrew toward the shade and said, “My Lord! I am indeed in need of any good You may send down to me!” Then one of the two women approached him, walking bashfully. She said, “Indeed my father invites you to pay you the wages for watering our flock for us.” Therefore, when he came to him and recounted the story to their father, he said, “Do not be afraid. You have been delivered from the wrongdoing lot.” (Qur’an, 28:24-25).
Are you distinguishing yourself? God is always dealing with you about some area to come up higher in. maybe it is to be more excellent in how you treat people, more excellent in how you present yourself, more excellent when it comes to your career and improving your skills. Do not let something small keep God from releasing something big into your life. You are called to be the successor of God on the earth.
Your Lord said to the angels: “Indeed I am going to set a viceroy and a successor on the earth.” (Qur’an, 2:30).
You have an excellent spirit. God Almighty says,
“I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My spirit.” (Qur’an, 15:29).
You are whom the angels prostrated for him.
The angels prostrated all of them together. (Qur’an, 15:30).
Take time to take care of yourself and try to be like Almighty God and show Him in your life. There is in a hadith that, “A faithful is the mirror of God.” You represent God and God is not sloppy, run down; God is not second-class. He is an excellent God. The main thing is make sure you present yourself in a way that you are proud of it. You are a temple of the highest God. God lives in you.
So be careful about yourself and try your best. Obey God’s command. Revere God. Be thankful to Him. Know that you are not everybody. You are a cut above. You are called to be excellent. You are the best. Try your best and Almighty God will answer you and guide you. He says,
“As for those who strive in Us, We shall surely guide them in Our ways, and God is indeed with the virtuous.” (Qur’an, 29:69).
If you do not care of what God has given you, how may God bless you with more? Therefore, whether it is new or old, take pride of what God has given you and be thankful to your Lord, Almighty God.
Your Lord proclaimed, “If you give thanks, then I will increase for you.” (Qur’an, 14:7).
You shall be thankful to God, and whoever is thankful is being thankful for his own good. As for whosoever rejects, then God is rich, praiseworthy.” (Qur’an, 31:12).
