Everywhere I turn I am challenged to excellence, urged to compete, compared to the best, inspected, poked, prodded.... and that's not all bad. But, there is a place for doing what we do, being who we are, without comparing, without measuring. Years ago, I stopped playing golf. There were many reasons but the primary one was that I did not play well enough. I knew I didn't have the time or money to invest in developing the skills that would allow me to be a good (by prevailing standards) golfer. I loved spending three hours puttering around the course, and I really did not give a care if I shot a 9 on a par 5! But, not many of my follow golfers wanted a guy along on the course who was just out hitting the ball and soaking up sunshine. I wasn't a 'serious' golfer. I let the pressure of competition steal a simple pleasure from me.
My wife teaches 1st grade. She feels constant pressure to make each of the little ones learn all their subjects to the same high degree of proficiency. Never mind that tiny Sally is an artist for whom math is an exercise in torture. Mark's passion is reading but he must draw! They must all get good grades in all subjects regardless of natural interests or abilities. The joy of learning and collaboration is lost to little marks on a paper that determines if Sally and Mark are 'good' students. This is the tragedy of modern education.
A small church of a 100 or so enthusiastic Christians may be a wonderfully healthy Body nurturing people into a relationship with God that is deep and authentic, but that little congregation will often destroy the joy and health of who they are by trying to become the next mega-church-- going into debt, taking on ministries -- because that what 'churches of excellence' do. Instead of being the church that God ordained them to be, they feel they must be the church that Christianity Today magazine lauds in the lead article of the most recent issue.
The idolatry of perfection creeps into everything, turning our focus onto ourselves away from the service of God. The result is that fewer of us live joyful, committed, and fulfilled lives. Instead we are perpetually desperate, anxious, and cranky!
Are you starting to get my point today?
- We don't age with grace because baldness, thick waist lines, and wrinkles are not acceptable in the modern standard of perfection of perpetual youthfulness. Says who? It's the way of life that youth gives way to age and God's plan is that the deficits that come with aging are offset by the strength of wisdom! Proverbs observes- 16:31 "Gray hair is a mark of distinction, the award for a God-loyal life."
- We can't let our kids be ordinary (almost a curse word to some!) because to do so is to fail to push them to their potential. So, conforming to the ways of the world, we make them neurotic performers who don't know the joy of doing anything just 'for the fun of it;' who spend the rest of their lives competing and living on the edge of mental breakdown. Imagine saying, "Just play baseball and enjoy it, son." Oh no, we have to ruin Little League for him, making a 9 year old kid play the game like the destiny of the universe rides on whether his team wins!
- We can't rejoice in who we are because we're always focused on what we could be... if only!
- Our spouses suffer under the strain of being compared to that one that is 'so perfect' and we destroy what could be a great relationship trying to make our wife realize that she 'needs' to be thinner, neater, .... etc. We miss the treasure we have, because we are comparing.
- Our Christian lives are full of stress and strain as we measure and compare ourselves to others. God's will is that we surrender to the Spirit's call and allow Him to use us - just as we are, right where we are- for His purposes.
"Jerry," you say, "I am shocked that you would applaud mediocrity." If that what you're thinking, I've communicated poorly or you've jumped to the wrong conclusion. It's not mediocrity that I'm urging on us today. It is acceptance of who we are and contentment in the situations in which we find ourselves at this moment. God has a plan for each one of us, and we can't all be the President of the United States or evangelist Billy Graham!
The Bible reminds us that "The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up only one body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into Christ’s body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit.Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am only an ear and not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body?" (1 Cor. 12:12-16 NLT )
If we attempt, in the name of excellence, to be someone that we are not called or equipped to be, we will miss out on the great joy that comes to those who are humble - that is, no more and no less than God calls them to be.
Let me urge you today to ask God who He is asking you to be, without comparison to some external standard of 'excellence.' Rejoice in the spiritual gifts and opportunities He has presented to you and be the person He wants, not the person others are demanding you become. Give up the need to be recognized, to 'win' the award, to earn applause - except the applause of Heaven earned as we perform for the Audience of One.
In this humility and contentment we will find that life is much more pleasant for us and for all those around us. AND, I am absolutely convinced, that in the end, we will accomplish more, and what we do, because it is done for God, will be of lasting value!
Are you worshipping the idol of perfectionism?
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