Excellence is a virtuous quality, a high moral standard as christians this simply means obedience, diligence and trustworthiness. Joseph is an example in scripture of a young man who was obedient, worked very hard, did everything in his ability to do his very best. Even when he was unjustly imprison he was able to impress the the warden with his excellent character, work ethic, and abilities. It was because of his unwavering commitment, and excellence that God allowed him to be promoted to a higher position of power. God is pleased when we are diligent. These qualities support excellence and merit a closer observance, as we will soon see through the life of Joseph and an ant.
Obedience, compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another's authority. Whatever you do remember God is watching; despite our circumstance, God’s blessings are able to overcome. No matter what position or circumstance Joseph was placed in he was promoted. Genesis 39:21 “The Lord was with Joseph in the prison, and showed him his faithful love…” When the youngman name Joseph was sold by jealous brothers into slavery and unjustly imprisoned God was with him and blessed what he put his hands to. Egypt was not Gods people,yet despite it God blessed whatever Joseph put his hands to and Egypt ended up being blessed for Josephs sake. Did you catch what God's blessing is contingent on? Perhaps the first Psalm might better explain this
Psalm 1:1 “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ]ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. 3. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” We can see that blessings are contingent.
In Genesis 39:3 “And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.” so Potipher put him charge of his whole household. Even when Joseph was wrongly accused and sent to prison, Joseph made being obedient to God a priority.
v21 “But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. v22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.”
Even when he was forgotten about for a couple of years His focus was on God.
v38 “And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?” Pharaoh put Joseph over his house, he ruled the people and set him over all the land of Egypt.
Diligence, Have you ever heard the saying, “Nose to the grindstone” “Stay the course” “Go the extra mile” all these idioms are attributed to hardworking. Did you know that Soloman used an ant as an example of wisdom. They teach us the value of working hard, optimizing resources, community, and team. Ants need no motivation and work tirelessly towards a common goal. If humans would simply exercise this same, “Can Do” attitude we could accomplish so much more because hardworking is an aspiration, not just a standard.
What does it mean to be trustworthy? Well it actually means several things; that you are an honest person, that you have integrity. People know that if they give tell something important, or ask you to do something, you can be depended on. Being trustworthy denotes that your going to do what you say, your reliable. When your trustworthy, its because others have shown confidence in your actions. Trustworthy is something that you have earned. You deserve it because you consistently demonstrate to other people that you have unshakable moral values, proven time, and time again.
