No Credit, No Limit

Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States of America, once said, “There is no limit to the amount of good you can do, if you don’t care who gets the credit.” Just imagine what your family, your company, or your community could accomplish if everyone put ego aside and focused on the important tasks at hand. Such a simple concept, but so hard to accomplish. Why?

Because we’re all naturally selfish and essentially “self-employed”. By that I mean, we’re really working for our glory, our success. The only way to suppress that desire, i.e. to demote self and humbly elevate something above our ego, is to commit to building a relationship with God. That commitment entails daily habits that allocate time and energy to get to know Him. That is, in fact, the key to building any relationship. Devote time and energy, and it will incremental happen. All that’s needed is commitment. What follows is a win-win, for you and for other people in your life.

That begs the question, “Who are you working for?“

For me, my boss is really a Jewish Carpenter. Whatever I do, I work at it with all my heart, as though I work for the Lord, not a human master. By doing this, it frees me from seeking praise of other people. It liberates me to serve others, no matter the congratulations or criticism I get from them. My desire to serve is not a function of their response. It is simply to serve and help others in God’s name. That’s where my joy is rooted.

The amazing byproduct of this is the ability to live life and pursue happiness irrespective of circumstances. Good and bad things happen to me, but I’m able to live a consistent, calm, assertive, joy-filled life because it’s rooted in God getting the credit. When that matters most, there’s no limit to the amount of good I can do and that’s such a blessed assurance.

It’s worth repeating … imagine what our families, our companies, or our communities could accomplish if everyone put ego aside and focused on the important tasks at hand. The truth is anyone who desires greatness must first become a servant.

What a wonderful world it would be!