Consider 2 Timothy 2:15, which reads: “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed.” It is up to you to prepare yourself for the master’s use. You must examine your own standards. What standards do you live by? One thing about Nigeria is that we do not lack brilliance. We do not lack creativity. We are not short of talent. We lack high standards. Everywhere you look, mediocrity is accepted. For example, the UTME exam is scored over 400. However, most students prepare with the mindset of “If I can just get 200, I’m fine.”
That’s mediocrity. When you set low expectations, you will get low results. Your God-given gifts will shrink to meet your standards. Mediocrity is a culture in Nigeria. In our universities, a typical student taking eight or nine courses per semester will celebrate three or four A’s as if it were a miracle rather than the norm. This is what happens when low standards are accepted as the norm. The same creativity that God bestowed upon us to build industries, transform nations, and change economies is crushed by the weight of “anything goes.”
Heaven has already supplied the raw materials for your destiny. However, Earth will only see the version of you that your standards permit. Your creativity and spiritual gifts are wasted due to mediocrity and low standards. So, raise the bar. Raise your standards in how you think, how you work, and how you live. Stop calling mediocrity “good enough.” Stop making excuses for laziness. Stop praying for excellence while celebrating average. Your creativity is holy. Your spiritual gifts are powerful. But they will only bear fruit at the level of your standards. Raise them, and you will watch your gifts breathe, stretch, and transform your world.
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