Posts Tagged: the quest for improvement

“No End to Better”

On July 10, 2023 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

I have always wanted to be better. There have been times when I thought I was succeeding in that desire, but not very often. In what arena did I (and do I) want to be better? You name it; I want to be better at it.

There are little endeavors such as chess and softball. Then there are the really important things: being a better writer, a better teacher, a better husband, a better follower of Jesus.

That desire for improvement and growth is not always a good thing, frankly. Sometimes, I want to be better for self-serving reasons. There are also times when wanting to be better keeps me from enjoying people and life in the moment. Often, my quest (lust?) for better only succeeds in making me bitter that I’m not—not better, that is.

A friend of mine who is also on a quest for better gave me a wonderful saying that I had never heard before: “There is no end to better.” That could be bad news. If there is no finish line, no end in sight for better, how do I know when I’ve finished the race?

But perhaps a race is not the best metaphor here.  Perhaps a marriage would be a better analogy. My wife and I will soon be celebrating fifty years of marriage. We have our struggles and disagreements, as all couples do. But we are both committed to making our relationship better. I’ve often said that, if you’re not working on your marriage, you’re working on you divorce.  That is not pessimism. That’s the way it is.

So, the fact that there is no end to better is good news, actually. It means that no matter how long you and I have been around and doing things, we can still be better. And really now: Do you really want to just stay the same?

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