Are you the gray man?

Driving complacency out of your life

Navy seals and other soldiers in the special forces are a different breed of men than most of us. With their burly beards and tatted bodies, they look more like wild vikings than surgically precise warriors. Their "take the bull by the horns" perspective of life, along with their amazing skills has made these men a fascination of mine since I been a kid. I have read many books about special forces along with many of their personal accounts of their battles, these stories have inspired and encouraged me to believe that no obstacle in life is truly impossible and that team work is key to success. As of right now I am actually in the process of reading "No easy day", it is the account of how Seal team six took down the most wanted man in the world, Osama Bin Laden.

In this book the Seal was talking about his experience surviving the screening process that it took to be part of the green team, an elite team made up of  Navy Seals, literally the best of the best.
During those excruciating days the Seals where asked by their commanders to write down a list of the top five and bottom five recruits. The purpose of this list was not so much to know who was great and who was terrible, but more for the purpose of finding "the gray man".

We all know one, perhaps we are or have been one ourselves. A man that is not bad enough to need correction, but not good enough to be considered a leader.  A man just good enough to slip under the radar, a ghost, never gives all he has, all way does just enough. He doesn't lag behind but he is not leading the charge either. This is what the Seals would call a "gray man" and being a gray man means that you are not giving one hundred and ten percent, something that this elite team of warriors will simply not tolerate.

As the words passed through my brain the first question that arose was "am I a gray man?" I mean my marriage is not bad at all, but, could it be better? I am not living a careless life hurting other people and I believe that my actions are a result of my intimacy with Jesus, but, am I making disciples? Am I giving it my all? Or am I giving just enough? These are questions that I believe are healthy if not necessary to ask. I am not saying that you should beat your self into an emotional pulp by self analyzing and criticizing every aspect of your life. What I am saying is that as a true man, you need to give yourself an honest assessment and have the desire to improve. To not just be good or acceptable, but to be fantastic.

The word of God says this :
 Colossians 3:23-24
New International Version (NIV)

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

It puts things in a different perspective when you realize that as believer we are to do everything as if we where doing it for Jesus. No half heartedness, no excuses, simply excellence. It puts serving your wife in a completely different level, it all of a sudden makes turning in the paperwork your boss asked for, into a task that must be done right and on time, instead of just a thing to do to keep the man from barking your ear off. And why is it I wonder? What is it about Jesus that makes us want serve Him in excellence? Is it fear of hell? Or perhaps recognition when we enter the pearly gates? No, no way.

What drives me to excellence, what drives me to give all I have and leave the "gray man" behind is love. I love Him, I love who and what He is, I love what He has done for me, I love His tremendous patience and grace, I love his wisdom and when He uses me to display it, I absolutely love him.
This is what calls us to excellence, not obligation, but a drive. Like the Navy seals they give it their all because they love their nation, They love the freedom and prosperity it offers and if they can do anything to protect it then you can be sure they will give it all they have. Likewise we are to leave the "gray man" behind, abandon complacency and the bare minimum, throw apathy and excuses to the side and run with all we got. Never be afraid of failure for correction improves you and never be comfortable with your current success because you can always be better. Thank you for giving me a few minutes of your day and see you next week.