As Christians, we have many responsibilities. We can possibly increase the available effort somewhat by working more efficiently, being smarter, or better organized, or hiring more students or assistants, but eventually we reach the limits of our energy or our need for sleep. We are forced to establish priorities and make choices on how we are to best spend our time so that we can be excellent in the most important areas of our life. If we focus our effort on remaining number one in research alone, a nearly infinite task, we are likely to observe other areas at work or in our lives that are anything but excellent. The Christian should be careful not to sacrifice relationships for ambition.
People are more important than things.
We must establish a balance in life to best serve the Lord. It must be clear that we can neither neglect our work, as we are working unto the Lord, not unto men, nor become one-dimensional perfectionists at the expense of the rest of our responsibilities. We must never use our Christianity as a rationalization for poor quality work. Also, we should never use our work as an excuse for neglecting our relationships with family, friends, and students. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.