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Jesus Flipped Our Understanding of What’s Good Enough
[INTRODUCTION]
Good Enough
The phrase “good enough” doesn’t exactly have the best reputation, does it?
It’s what you might say when you give up on a project halfway through or settle for something low-quality.
Of Course, there are some times in life when you definitely don’t want to settle for “good enough.”
When is it okay to settle for “good enough?”
How do you decide when to give more than what’s “good enough?”
I’m sure we’ve all had moments when we could have put more effort into something we were doing or working on, but…well, we just decided not to.
Whether we’re doing homework, cleaning up, practicing an instrument, or having a difficult conversation, we often have to make decisions about how much effort to put in.
So how do you make that decision?
How do you decide when to give more than what’s “good enough?”
It’s one thing to ask these questions about our homework, chores, or hobbies.
But what about things that are much more important, like:
Our relationship with God?
Our relationship with each other?
And the people we’re becoming?
Whether you tend to do just the bare minimum, or you find yourself doing too much sometimes, Jesus will show us what the right thing to do is.
If following Jesus was a scale of 1-5, with 3 being “good enough”, what do you think each number on that scale would look like?
What are some reasons we sometimes settle for “good enough” when it comes to following Jesus?
When it comes to following Jesus, we probably all have ideas about what it looks like to do what’s “good enough,” versus doing “the most” to follow Him.
So what do you think?
What does it look like to do what’s “good enough?”
What does it look like to do “the most” for God?
[TRANSITION]
When Jesus was here on earth, he spent a lot of time talking to religious people and leaders about what was, and wasn’t “good enough” in God’s eyes.
Many of these religious people thought they could love God by following every single one of God’s laws perfectly.
When it came to following those laws, doing the bare minimum wasn’t “good enough” for them.
They were committed to following as many laws as possible, as perfectly as they could.
They even came up with new laws on their own so they could follow those too.
But the desire these religious people had to get perfect scores on their imaginary “holiness report cards” often led them to become self-righteous, judgmental, and self-centered.
If you had asked them how much effort they were putting into pleasing God, I’m pretty sure they would have said, “Definitely the most.”
That’s why some of Jesus’ words for them were so shocking.
Instead of congratulating them on doing “the most” for God, Jesus said, “sorry, but it’s not good enough.”
In one portion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he helped them see this by first quoting one of the laws they were so proud of following and the took it a step further.
Matthew 5:38–48 (CSB)
“You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer.
On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well.
And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two.
Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
so that you may be children of your Father in heaven.
For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have?
Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary?
Don’t even the Gentiles do the same?
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
The religious people of his day thought they were doing “the most” by following their religious rules perfectly, but they were actually missing the whole point of what God wanted them to do: love!
Religious leaders sometimes accused Jesus of disrespecting God’s law when Jesus didn’t always follow God’s law the way they expected him to.
But Jesus didn’t come to throw away the Law God had given.
Instead, he came to clarify the heart and the intention behind God’s Law.
To help his followers understand this shift, Jesus needed to flip their understanding completely upside down.
God’s law said “an eye for and eye” because God is a God of justice.
There was a time when this law helped God’s people figure out ways to love with each other in peace and safety.
But because people began using the law as an excuse to take revenge on people who had hurt them, Jesus needed to flip their understanding.
“An eye for an eye,” he said, “isn’t good enough.
If someone offends you, don’t just take revenge.
Show them mercy, kindness, and generosity instead.”
God’s Law said to “love your neighbors” because God is a God of love.
But God’s people sometime struggled to understand who their “neighbor” actually was.
Because people convinced themselves they were fulfilling God’s laws by loving only the people they wanted to love, Jesus needed to flip their understanding.
“Love your neighbor,” he said, “isn’t good enough.
Don’t just love the people that are easy to love.
Love everyone, even you enemies.”
And before these examples, Jesus gave them even more.
He listed law after law, saying, “You think you’re doing ‘the most’ by following this law, but it’s actually not good enough - not if you’re not doing it out of love.”
[TRANSITION]
Over and over again, Jesus kept flipping ideas on their heads to get us to think differently about what God wants from us.
But he didn’t just talk about it.
He modeled it for us too.
Jesus didn’t just come to earth to teach us things.
He didn’t come to give us a new set of rules to follow or new impossible standards to meet.
He didn’t show up just to tell us everything we have gotten wrong.
Instead, Jesus came to earth to make things right.
To do that, he didn’t just do the bare minimum.
He gave everything for you and me.
Ephesians 2:4–7 (CSB)
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us,
made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses.
You are saved by grace!
He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,
so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
Because of what Christ has done for us, how should we then live?
Colossians 3:12–13 (CSB)
Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another.
Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive.
What does it look like to go 1 mile for someone?
What does it look like to go 2 miles for someone?
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