“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23-24, ESV).

It was difficult to recruit a surgeon who would work with her, given her eccentricities and wavering decision-making. Finally, she was forced to proceed; her abdominal pain predicted an impending disaster. I visited her the day before the planned procedure and asked her how she liked her surgeon. At 80 she could get away with her reply, “If you bought him for what he was worth and sold him for what he thought he was worth, you would make a fortune.”

I’m not sure she pegged her surgeon correctly, but she brought up three good points.

1. Do we do our job well?
2. Are we confident that we do our job well?
3. What do others think of our performance?

Certainly, as healthcare professionals, we need to be very good at what we do for the sake of those we serve. This takes practice and study; we need to be deliberate about both.

We need also to be personally confident in our skills, that we are up to date, practiced and ready to do the best job possible for our patients.

And we want our patients to be assured we are providing them the best care possible, hopefully from lips other than our own.

Our patient care should be captured by the word “excellence,” because we work “for the Lord and not for men.”

Besides, we want to speak the name of Jesus into their lives. There is no better podium from which we can speak than the podium of excellence coupled with sacrificial service.

Dear Father,
In all of the busyness of life, let me take the proper steps to remain excellent in the skills You have handed me to use for Your glory.
Amen