Christ's Mercy > Your Sin, The Holiness Hierarchy, A Formula for Elite Performance
The Disciple-Leader Newsletter #63
Discipleship
“There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us.”1
Richard Sibbes
Jeffrey R. Holland echoed Richard Sibbes’ sentiments, just using different words. He wrote, “However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines.”2
Jesus Christ loves forgiving sins. Sometimes we might hesitate to approach Him because we are ashamed and feel that He won’t want to forgive us or that we aren’t worthy of His attention. Actually, according to Elder Holland again, there is nothing He loves more. There is nothing He would rather do.
“Surely the thing God enjoys most about being God is the thrill of being merciful, especially to those who don’t expect it and often feel they don’t deserve it.”3
If you’ve delayed repentance or a relationship with God because of feelings of guilt, shame, or any other feeling for that matter, you aren’t just delaying your peace and freedom, you’re keeping God from doing what he loves most about being God. This is what He lives for! This is what He sent His Son to suffer and die for. Your sin simply is no match for His mercy. He loves you too much, Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient for you, and He delights too much in being merciful for Him to ever turn you away.
Leadership
“The least, the most inferior spirit now upon the earth … is worth worlds.”4
Brigham Young
What comes to mind when you think of the greatest man-made treasures of this world? Riches, empires, mansions, temples, you name it. This world is full of things of great value.
What comes to mind when you think of the greatest God-made creations? The mountains, the ocean, the sky, the planets. The wonders of the world.
You likely know this, but it bears reminding because how we act would signify that we so easily forget this truth: Every single person you have interacted with today is of greater value than those man-made treasures and God-made wonders.
I went to Niagara Falls a couple of summers ago. We were on this boat tour with hundreds of other tourists. We got really close to the Falls. We were all getting soaked. I, like the hundreds of others, looked on in awe of the Falls. They were majestic and powerful. Interestingly, had God—the Creator of the Falls—been on that boat, He’d have looked on in awe not of the Falls, but of the tourists. The tourists are His prize. The tourists are His treasure.
We live in a fallen world. Our natural eyes see the world through telestial lenses. Through the enabling power of Jesus Christ, however, you can upgrade to celestial lenses. Those are the lenses through which God views the world. Through those lenses, people take their rightful place in holiness’s hierarchy. “Next to the blessed sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.”5
Mental Performance
"The difference between good teams and great teams is the level of expectations and standards they hold themselves to."6
Geno Auriemma
A few simple formulas.
Low expectations + low standards = Poor performance.
Low expectations + high standards = Function-without-feeling performance. Passionless. No belief.
High expectations + low standards = Anxiety and frustration. Squandered potential.
High expectations + high standards = Elite performance.
Ultimately, having low expectations or low standards will always yield poor performance. You don’t even need to have both, just having a low grade for one of the two is enough to undo you. Said differently, your performance can only be as high as your standards and expectations. You need both.
Works of Richard Sibbes, 1:47
Jeffrey R. Holland talk. The Laborers in the Vineyard.
Jeffrey R. Holland talk. The Laborers in the Vineyard.
C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory.
https://x.com/CoachHackGO/status/1759578606010028236