Devotions
Leaving a Legacy – Go the extra mile (Part 3)
“And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two” Matthew 5:41 (NIV)
At my former
job, we used a performance contract system as a means of defining the
institution’s priorities and keeping all employees focused on achieving these
priorities. At the end of the year, a points system was used to evaluate
everyone’s achievement based on their annual targets. The evaluation system had
of course key statements for assessment. The first one was: “did the employee
achieve his/her target, on time and within the budget?” What is strange is that
the maximum mark for such an employee was 12 or 13 out of 15. In my
understanding, I always felt it was unfair. If someone did what was expected
from them, on time and within the budget, they should receive the full mark.
This was until I realized and understood that no one rewards the ordinary.
Rewards and recognition are for extraordinary achievements, for people who go
above and beyond their assigned duties.
Going the
extra mile is a well-known and famous concept in management, leadership,
customer service, and many other areas. What many might not know is that the
term originated from the Bible. The term simply means doing beyond what is
expected of you; to put in more effort than required. To put it in context,
when Jesus enounced that principle, Judea was under Roman military occupation.
Under their military law, any Roman soldier could command a Jew to carry his
soldier’s pack for one mile – but only one mile. Jesus here says, “Go beyond
the one mile required by law.” Jesus was exhorting his listeners, as a
principle, to do well beyond what is expected from them, because if you do what
you are required to do, there is no reward for that, because it is what you
have been hired to do; it is what you are being paid for. Jesus was clear about
this principle. He challenged his followers with it in Luke 17:7-10. If you
have done what you had to do, why should you expect to be thanked or why should
you think you deserve special treatment? He said, “when you have done all those
things for which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We
have done what was our duty to do’.” Luke 17:10 (NIV). This is to show how God
and people value the principle of going the extra mile. God knows our strength;
he knows how far you can stretch your efforts. He is not asking you to put your
health in danger or empty your coffer out of generosity; he is asking you to do
your very best. Remember that taxi driver. Instead of dropping the old lady in
front of her house, he got out, opened the door and helped her to the door. She
never forgot him, and he became her unique taxi driver. He left a lasting
impact on her.
People who
live a life of legacy always go the extra mile. When everyone is content with
the “good,” they strive for the “excellent.” When everyone works eight hours a
day, they make it ten. No one is born extraordinary; ordinary people can think,
act, and become extraordinary. It takes an ordinary man acting extraordinarily
to leave a mark on earth and contribute to the future. That is not a matter of
a born-with or a God-given gift, luck or fate; it’s a result of choice. One
chooses to leave a legacy. In his book Think Big, Ben Carson, the
preeminent American surgeon now politician talked about how his mother shaped
his life and left an unerasable mark in his life. His mother (Sonya) had little
education, but she had decided that it would not be an excuse for failure. Her
life of legacy produced two wonderful men, one of them grew to become one of
the greatest neurosurgeons in the US of his time. Her attitude towards work was
like, “I will sweep the house until they say only Sonya could do such a great
job.” Going the extra mile is a choice that pays off.
Posted : Jan 26, 2026