How to Really Be Perfect
We all make mistakes. When I make mistakes at work, it's usually because I "miss" something. For example, I create spreadsheets based on a set of data. Sometimes either I or someone working with me puts in the wrong number or numbers. It happens. That's why you proof-read things. Of course sometimes, even after proof-reading, I still miss the error.
Hey, no one's perfect.
But wait. Doesn't Our Lord command us to be perfect? He does:
Being the incredibly imperfect being I am, Our Lord's command here used to drive me crazy. Perfect? Me? I used to agonize over this. It struck me as preposterous - even unfair.
For example, just thinking about my work, I figure no one expects you to be perfect in your work, right? I mean, as long as you get most things right, those occasional screw-ups shouldn't mean the end of the world. And it's not like I don't hold myself up to some pretty high standards. I do. But I'm still not perfect.
Now maybe I'm just lucky to have decent, understanding clients, but I find that even clients understand a slip-up here and there - as long as you catch your mistakes and fess-up to them. At least that's been my experience.
But back to Jesus saying, "Be you therefore perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." If I can't even do my work perfectly all the time, how does He expect me to live my life perfectly - everything I think and say and do...all the time? I mean, if my clients understand a mistake here and there, why doesn't Jesus?
Now, we know that He knows us better than we know ourselves. So what's up with telling us to be perfect? And not only does He tell us to be perfect, but look at His definition of "perfect": "as your heavenly Father is perfect." Our standard of perfection is God!
Can you see why this used to drive me nuts? God? He wants me to be like God? Me? This is madness!
But, of course, it's not madness. Our Lord wasn't the crazy one here. And He wasn't just saying "Be you therefore perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" just as a kind of inspirational exhortation. He wasn't "cheer-leading." He means every word.
So it' got to be that He's expecting us to strive to be perfect, right? What else could He mean? He knows we're going to screw up. He knows how imperfect we are. So He can't be expecting us to literally never slip and fall from time to time.
It's got to be that He loves us so much that He wants the best for us. Just like when you're a parent and you want the best for your child. He simply wants the best. And being God Himself, He knows that the "best" - in every sense of the word - is God. Why would He want anything less than the best for us?
That means that it's not so much that I should check myself at the end of the day and beat myself up for every screw-up. It's that every morning when I wake up I have the faith, the confidence, to get up and strive for perfection. I should strive for the best, not second best.
Yeah, I think that's more like it.
Hey, no one's perfect.
But wait. Doesn't Our Lord command us to be perfect? He does:
"Be you therefore perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matt. 5:48)
Being the incredibly imperfect being I am, Our Lord's command here used to drive me crazy. Perfect? Me? I used to agonize over this. It struck me as preposterous - even unfair.
For example, just thinking about my work, I figure no one expects you to be perfect in your work, right? I mean, as long as you get most things right, those occasional screw-ups shouldn't mean the end of the world. And it's not like I don't hold myself up to some pretty high standards. I do. But I'm still not perfect.
Now maybe I'm just lucky to have decent, understanding clients, but I find that even clients understand a slip-up here and there - as long as you catch your mistakes and fess-up to them. At least that's been my experience.
But back to Jesus saying, "Be you therefore perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." If I can't even do my work perfectly all the time, how does He expect me to live my life perfectly - everything I think and say and do...all the time? I mean, if my clients understand a mistake here and there, why doesn't Jesus?
Now, we know that He knows us better than we know ourselves. So what's up with telling us to be perfect? And not only does He tell us to be perfect, but look at His definition of "perfect": "as your heavenly Father is perfect." Our standard of perfection is God!
Can you see why this used to drive me nuts? God? He wants me to be like God? Me? This is madness!
But, of course, it's not madness. Our Lord wasn't the crazy one here. And He wasn't just saying "Be you therefore perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" just as a kind of inspirational exhortation. He wasn't "cheer-leading." He means every word.
So it' got to be that He's expecting us to strive to be perfect, right? What else could He mean? He knows we're going to screw up. He knows how imperfect we are. So He can't be expecting us to literally never slip and fall from time to time.
It's got to be that He loves us so much that He wants the best for us. Just like when you're a parent and you want the best for your child. He simply wants the best. And being God Himself, He knows that the "best" - in every sense of the word - is God. Why would He want anything less than the best for us?
That means that it's not so much that I should check myself at the end of the day and beat myself up for every screw-up. It's that every morning when I wake up I have the faith, the confidence, to get up and strive for perfection. I should strive for the best, not second best.
Yeah, I think that's more like it.
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