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“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” —Matthew 5:48
A particular writing exercise requires you to leave a known mistake or imperfection in a manuscript for a week before making any attempt to correct it. Every day, you must read your manuscript, keeping track of your inner tolerance for the error. It drives most people crazy to keep the flaw in until the end of the week. But that’s the whole point!
The purpose of the exercise is to confront perfectionism and that old, familiar, critical inner voice. It teaches the writer to be comfortable with what is, instead of what should be. The lesson of accepting our mistakes helps us put them in perspective and brings them into balance with our accomplishments. It sounds like a good exercise for life, doesn’t it?
In fact, ancient Greek artisans purposefully left imperfections in their creations so as not to be considered arrogant by the gods. For them, imperfection wasn’t only acceptable, it was expected, and it was an assurance that they weren’t in competition with the deities. Although the ancient Greeks’ methods may seem primitive to us, there is some wisdom to their ways.
Aristotle was the first to define perfection, and he ascribed three related meanings: to be complete, to be so good that nothing of the kind could be better, and to attain one’s purpose. These definitions illustrate the foolishness of trying to achieve perfection without Jesus. Only through his life, death, and resurrection can we be completed or attain our purpose. We can only be deemed good through his goodness.
When Scripture exhorts us to “be perfect,” the phrase has little to do with performance or personal achievements—it is a call to allow ourselves to be completed in and by Christ. So the next time you are fretting about a personal imperfection, remember the words of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, who proclaimed, “I learned very quickly … that the more one advances, the more one sees the goal is still far off. And now I am simply resigned to see myself always imperfect, and in this I find my joy.” Like her, you can embrace your mistakes as a part of God’s perfect plan for you!
Lord, thank you for your perfect love, which completes me!
Just for Today: I will deliberately tolerate a mistake (mine or someone else’s) and reflect on the experience
Thank you for pointing out the only proven antidote to “that old, familiar, critical inner voice”: calling on the love of the Lord.