During the war of 1914-1918, the Australian troops fighting the Turks were furnished water on the battle fields by large water tanks called the Furphy Tank. Every Furphy Tank had this motto written on it:
Good better best, Never let it rest, Till your good is better, And your better best.
This message was intended to inspire the soldiers to do their best. We, too, are soldiers fighting a battle. Our warfare requires our full concentration and best effort because it is a battle within, a struggle against the lusts of the flesh that come from our sin-prone nature. Paul encourages Timothy to “war a good warfare” and tells the Corinthians, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.” So the good news is that the strong holds we face can be pulled down.
Can the thoughts expressed in this little ditty help inspire us? Can our good get better and can we make our better best? Paul became frustrated because, “The good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” Paul wasn’t accomplishing all the good that he should do, and neither do we. We all can improve. The largest room we have in our house is the room for improvement. We can all try a little harder to do better than we have done. Paul, in his despair, asked the question, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” He is quick to answer his own question. “Thanks be to God — through Jesus Christ our Lord!” He later explains that since it is Christ who died, is risen and makes intercession for us, that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. It is no wonder Paul could exclaim with joy, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
How do we wage our battle? Since the battle is for control of our mind, we need to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Our thoughts will make or break us. Worldly thoughts can destroy us and godly thoughts will save us. Paul tells us, “To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” He advises the Philippians to choose to think only about things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. The best way to accomplish this goal is to meditate on the scriptures as Joshua was advised to do: “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night.” Joshua was promised prosperity and success if he did because knowing God’s law and thinking about it constantly would help him to obey it.
The Furphy Tank was trying to inspire the troops to think success by programming their minds to do their best. Let us take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ who wants us to succeed. We can’t succeed unless we try, and we can all do better than we have done, so let us not rest until we make our good better and our better best for Jesus.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One