Quite often I tune in to a preacher from Bangalore, one Rev Johnson.V. whose sermons are so sharp, so engaging and brilliant, that I find myself sitting up a little straighter, as if he can somehow see me through the screen and disapprove of my slouch. His words flow with ease, his humour arrives on cue, and his insights seem to come gift wrapped with clarity.

Naturally, I assumed he was one of those rare creatures who simply opened his mouth and brilliance walked out.

Until one day, he let the secret slip.

He practised.

Not once. Not twice. But repeatedly. He refined, reworked, and rehearsed. And after delivering the same sermon four times on a Sunday, he would go back, listen to his recordings, and ask himself the most uncomfortable of questions. Could this have been better?

Suddenly his brilliance did not look accidental. It looked deliberate. And it’s no wonder he has a congregation that’s in its thousands.

Now hold that picture.

Because last week, I found myself part of a cheerful WhatsApp group of a men’s fellowship preparing to sing in church on Good Friday. There was enthusiasm in deciding on the song. There was conviction. There were even explanations and exclamations of why a hymn was not being sung or sung.

And then came the masterstroke: “No time to practise. Let’s just sing directly on the day.”

If enthusiasm alone could produce harmony, heaven would have outsourced its choir long ago.

There is something strange about us. When it comes to our professions, we prepare. We rehearse presentations. We revise reports. We check, double check, and then check again. A small mistake at work can keep us awake at night.

But when it comes to doing something for God, we suddenly discover a new theology. One that says God understands. Which He does.

But understanding should not be confused with approval of mediocrity.

We offer God leftovers of time, scraps of effort, and occasionally, a performance that has not even met our own standards elsewhere.

Imagine a surgeon walking into an operating theatre and saying, “I did not have time to study this procedure before, but let’s see how it goes.” We would run faster than the patient.

Yet we walk calmly into places of worship with the same casual approach.

The truth is simple. Excellence is not arrogance. It is respect.

If God gave us His very best, not a fraction, not a substitute, but His own Son, then surely what we offer back cannot be half baked effort wrapped in good intentions.

Whether it is a sermon, a song, or even a simple prayer, it deserves more preparation than we would put into our normal work. Yes, it deserves thought. It deserves our very best.

This Holy Saturday, do remember, that when it comes to God, who gave us His Best, there is no such thing as second best…!

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