The Standard Is Excellence

When I began teaching Greek 50 years ago at Biola, I was also a fulltime student at Talbot working on my M.Div. That semester I took two courses in the Education Department at Biola: College Teaching Procedures, and Tests and Measurements. The textbook for the former course was Elton Trueblood's The Idea of a College, in which Dr. Trueblood made this unforgettable statement:

"Holy shoddy is still shoddy."

The new god in America is the god of mediocrity. "Mediocre" is actually a hiking term. It derives from the Latin for "halfway to the top of the mountain." The dictionary defines "mediocre" as:

"of moderate or low quality, value, ability, or performance." 

Synonyms include:

• ordinary
• so-so
• passable
• indifferent
• second-rate
• satisfactory
• of low quality
• average
• unremarkable
• commonplace
• inferior
• pedestrian
• undistinguished
• cut-and-dried
• run-of-the-mill
• acceptable but not great

God does not ignore these things. I can't tell you how many times my efforts have been nothing less than shoddy. Yet God is a gentle craftsman. He's at work in our lives shaping, cutting, grinding, buffing, and polishing until every facet of our lives reflects his artistry. So be patient. 

But never set your standard any lower than "excellence."