EP 102: Has Your Drive for Excellence Become an Idol? | Christian Leaders, Workaholism & Godly Success
Ambition. Excellence. Drive.
On the surface, those sound like virtues - and in many ways, they are. I’ve built an entire career around competence, stewardship, and doing things well. I’m wired to bring my A-game. And I truly believe Scripture calls us to work with integrity and diligence.
But there’s a line most high performers don’t see until they cross it:
When excellence stops being a way to serve and starts becoming a way to prove.
That’s when excellence becomes an idol.
Not a golden statue in your living room - something more subtle and far more normalized: an identity built on output. A sense of worth earned through performance. A need to be impressive, indispensable, and unstoppable.
And it will cost you more than you think.
Excellence Isn’t the Problem - The Center Is
Let’s get one thing clear: excellence is not inherently wrong. In fact, it’s often a sign of stewardship.
Many of us were taught (and rightly so) to “work heartily” and to do our best with what we’ve been given. When excellence is rooted in calling, it can be worship.
But here’s the pivot point that turns something healthy into something enslaving:
When excellence becomes the center of your identity, it stops being a gift and starts becoming a god.
And when something becomes “god” in your life, it becomes the place you look for:
security
value
control
validation
peace
That’s a heavy load for achievement to carry. It can’t hold it. And you can’t either.
My “Executive” Myth: When Success Started Owning Me
There was a season in my career where I believed a lie about what it meant to be a real executive.
I thought executives:
worked long hours because that’s what leaders do
sacrificed relationships to “drive numbers”
outsourced the entire rest of life (and called it success)
lived in chronic stress and just… pushed through
I told myself: This is the cost of excellence.
And in that season, I was paying it.
I wasn’t sleeping well. I was heavier, exhausted, bitter, and out of balance. I had built a life that looked impressive from the outside—and felt hollow from the inside.
And the worst part?
I didn’t even realize it was happening, because achievement is socially celebrated. People praise what’s killing you.
The Cultural Pressure: Productivity Fetishization
Our culture doesn’t just value work. It worships it.
There’s a term for what many of us are experiencing: productivity fetishization - when self-worth becomes entangled with output and success.
It shows up like this:
you feel guilty when you rest
you can’t disengage because stillness feels unsafe
you measure your value by what you accomplish
you keep moving the goalpost and still feel behind
you’re never satisfied with yourself (or anyone else)
If that hit a nerve, you’re not alone—and you’re not broken.
You’re responding to a system that trains people to believe:
“If I stop producing, I stop mattering.”
That belief is spiritually corrosive and emotionally exhausting.
When Excellence Turns Into Idolatry
Here’s a definition that might help you name what’s happening:
Excellence becomes idolatry when work, performance, or success becomes the place you find your identity, value, and security—rather than God.
It’s not that you love doing good work. It’s that you start needing it.
And then achievement stops being a tool…and starts being a master.
Common signs you’ve crossed the line
You can’t rest without feeling guilty
Your relationships consistently get what’s left (not what’s best)
You’re chronically dissatisfied—even when you “win”
You’re emotionally reactive when someone critiques your work
You’re bitter toward people who don’t perform like you
You feel anxious when you’re not in control
Your spiritual life is on the back burner “for now”
If you’re reading this and thinking, That’s me, I want you to hear me: there is nothing morally superior about overwork. It’s not a fruit of the Spirit.
Scripture Doesn’t Call Us to Hustle-It Calls Us to Worship
This is where we have to get honest about what Scripture actually teaches.
The commandment “You shall have no other gods before Me” isn’t only about ancient idols. It’s about anything that takes first place in your heart.
That includes:
money
status
work
achievement
productivity
even the image of being “the one who holds it all together”
And then there’s Colossians 3:23 - often quoted in ambitious circles:
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.”
Yes. Work with excellence.
But the key isn’t the output, it’s the motive.
Excellence as worship is about serving God.
Performance idolatry is about serving self (or status).
Same behaviors. Different master.
The Wake-Up Call No High Performer Wants
I’ve had more than one “veil tearing” moment in my career—moments where what I thought was stability was revealed as fragile identity.
One of the most painful seasons came when a role I loved became my identity… and then it was suddenly threatened.
That loss didn’t just challenge my career. It challenged my sense of self.
That’s how you know something has crossed from “important” into “ultimate.”
Because when it’s taken away, you don’t just feel disappointed, you feel undone.
Healthy Excellence Has Markers (And They’re Not What You Think)
If you want a simple test, ask yourself this:
Is my excellence sustainable?
Or is it fueled by fear, control, or the need to prove?
Healthy excellence is often quieter than hustle culture makes it seem. It includes:
clarity of purpose
healthy boundaries
a sustainable pace (because you are finite, on purpose)
collaboration and delegation
rest cycles
growth and capacity-not only output
alignment with your values
If “excellence” in your world doesn’t include those things, it’s time to redefine it.
Practical Guardrails: How to Stay in Excellence Without Losing Your Soul
Here are six guardrails I’ve practiced and taught, because they work in real life, not just on paper.
1) Define success beyond output
Don’t just track revenue, goals, and deliverables.
Also measure:
health
relationships
spiritual growth
rest
your team’s wellbeing (if you lead people)
If your only scoreboard is performance, you’ll always feel behind.
2) Establish rhythms of rest (weekly, yearly, seasonal)
Rest isn’t a reward you earn. It’s a rhythm you practice.
Block it first - before the world fills your calendar for you.
3) Build boundaries and delegation
You don’t have to be the hero.
Delegation can look like:
contractors
systems
automation
simplifying what doesn’t matter
This isn’t laziness. It’s leadership.
4) Put accountability around your ambition
Trusted friends. Peers. Faith community.
You need people who can say:
“You’re doing too much.”
“This pace isn’t holy.”
“You’re chasing something that won’t satisfy.”
The right people won’t admire your burnout.
5) Do regular motive check-ins
Ask yourself often: Why am I doing this?
Not in shame - just in truth.
Motives change over time. And without reflection, you can drift into performance without realizing it.
6) Lead people, not just output
If you’re a leader, build work that honors human dignity.
Design roles and expectations that support:
sustainability
meaningful work
feedback loops around overload and burnout
healthy culture - not constant urgency
People aren’t machines. And neither are you.
Journal Prompts to Get Honest Fast
If you want clarity, start here:
What is my first love right now? (My calendar can answer this.)
Do I rest because God values rest - or only when I have “space”?
Is success building my worth, or is my worth already secure in Christ?
Who am I trying to impress?
What breaks in my life if I keep this pace for 12 more months?
What would change if I believed I’m allowed to be finite?
These aren’t “nice thoughts.” They’re diagnostic tools.
One Small Step This Week
You don’t need a full life overhaul by Friday.
Pick one guardrail and implement it this week:
schedule a Sabbath block
delegate one task
set one boundary around evenings
eat one tech-free dinner
take one true day off (without “catching up”)
The goal isn’t perfection.
The goal is reorientation.
Excellence Is Good - When It Points Away From You
Excellence becomes dangerous when it points toward your ego.
But when excellence points toward God and toward serving others, it becomes steady. Peaceful. Sustainable. Life-giving.
So here’s the question I’ll leave you with:
What is occupying the highest place in your heart right now?
If the answer is “achievement,” you’re not alone.
But you are invited - today - to pause, realign, and rest.
Because you were never created to be infinite.
And you were never meant to be your own savior.
Call to Action
If this resonated, share it with a friend who’s quietly burning out behind “excellence.” And if you want to go deeper, listen to the full episode of Don’t Waste the Chaos and choose one guardrail to practice this week.
