Is greatness worth it?

Greatness comes at a price. In his book Outliers: Stories of Success, Malcolm Gladwell posed the idea that it costs 10,000 hours of practice to be truly great at something. He mentions Bill Gates and Steve Jobs as examples, as well as Michael Jordan. Others who fall into that same category are stars, past and present, like Ted Williams, Wayne Gretzky, Peyton Manning, and Tiger Woods. Every sport has athletes known for their obsessive work habits and dedication to mastering their craft, and the same is true of most prolific authors, actors, movie directors, musicians, designers, and even pastors.

But what did it really cost? Every hour given to practice is an hour debited elsewhere. Family, relationships, personal spiritual life, mental and physical health, rest, and service to the church or community all pay taxes to “greatness.”

Think of your own life and the things in which you would like to excel: work, a creative endeavor, fitness. To do them it is necessary to not do something else, and often that something else truly matters, eternally matters. Faith, family, church, and community are all parts of life we often do not think of “mastering” but are foundational in a fulfilled Christian life. Yet these are the things we set aside to become great in some other area. Is it worth the cost?

To help answer this question we must remember two truths. First, greatness is not what American society tells us it is. It is not mastery of a skill or role; that’s being great at something. Greatness is a pursuit, not an arrival, a show of passion and consistency, not a threshold of achievement. What defines greatness are those things of eternal significance that we can never attain mastery of but must always be pursuing growth in: godliness, faithfulness, character.

The second thing to remember is that this pursuit is not one that has a finish line in our lifetime. The pursuit is the goal. As a Christian, greatness has so many faces. It shows itself in relationship with Christ, family, friends, neighbors, and enemies. It exhibits itself in our work and our play. And yes, it appears in our unique and unparalleled skills. In each of these aspects of life we are called to exhibit the image of God and live consciously for His glory in the power of the Holy Spirit. To do that is a lifelong process and pursuit. We will improve and draw closer to our objective but no honest believer will ever look at him- or herself and think, “I am great.”

When we remember what greatness really is we see that, yes, it is worth it. Rather than sacrifice valuable aspects of life to become “great” we are able to invest in them because we see that true greatness is exhibiting the greatness of another, not seeking our own.