Who's “The Best?”

I'm wondering if there's any such thing as “the best.” For years, I worked hard at becoming the best. It's certainly not that I wanted to look down my nose at anyone. It's that I wanted to be right, to feel good about myself and my accomplishments, and everyone always encouraged me to be "the best." Of course, with a goal that vague, I was doomed to failure.

Finally I took a look at what it means to be the best. For instance let's say that I had the best horse. Would that mean that he could run the fastest, jump the highest, or do the funniest tricks? Would it mean that he was tallest, shortest, or had the prettiest head? Was it that he stomped fearlessly through creeks when we're on the trail, or that he never made an unauthorized move? Of course, we could get carried away, saying that the very best horse would have a no-tangle tail, self-picking hooves, and would always poop in the assigned place. But that kind of an automaton wouldn't be the best horse for me. I may as well ride the horse outside Wal-Mart.

What would it mean for my horse to have the best owner? Would that be someone who showed up every day to ride and groom him or one who let him graze undisturbed with his buddies? See, “the best” is a matter of perspective, and being the best will always be just beyond our grasp.

I have a Miniature Schnauzer who is a mess. He didn't learn any boundaries as a puppy, and he has an exuberance that either makes you laugh or want to strangle him. I used to say, “Junior, you are the best dog!” because he clearly wasn't. But over the years, I've come to see that he is the best dog, because he's best at being himself. There's an authenticity about Junior that I just love.

In the end, I decided that my job is to be the best at being me. That's hard enough, but it's attainable. It means being true to who I am and what I believe, not thinking too much of myself but not putting myself down, either. In order to do that, I need God's perspective, otherwise I'll end up either comparing myself to other people or looking to other people for affirmation of how I'm doing. Like Junior, I've found that the people who love me do so because of who I am, not what I've accomplished. And that's okay with me.