“There is a right and perfect solution to all problems if one looks hard enough for it.”
Most of us practice a disputation of the above statement on a regular basis. Little proves the fallibility of perfectionism better than the celebration of family rituals (births, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, Holy Days, deaths). The preparations weren’t perfect. The shopping didn’t go well. The decorations weren’t perfect. Not everyone liked their gifts. Clothes didn’t fit well. People misbehaved: kids, spouses, other family members, neighbors. The meals weren’t perfect. We weren’t perfect.
The only thing perfect in human striving for perfection is the guarantee of perfect failure. If perfection is the goal, failure is the outcome. If there is perfection, it is not with humans. St. Paul reminds the church at Rome that we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God and that it is only by God’s grace that we are brought to “at-one-ment”. (Romans 3:23-25) Our hope is not in perfect performance but rather in our growing relationship with God. The result of this is peace, not perfection.
This peace comes from the atonement of our spirit joining with the Spirit of God. Living and growing in the light of the Godness is the closest we come to perfection in human terms. We hold this light within us as a “treasure in earthen vessels, or clay jars” (2 Corinthians 4).
Seeking Perfectionism holds out the impossible goal of maintaining a batting average of 1000. The Parable of the Sower and the Seeds, establishes a more reasonable Biblical mark: the seeds prospered in one of the four environments where they were planted. And still that one in four produced a bountiful harvest. (Matthew 13:3ff, Mark 4:1ff) God asks us to live and grow in the spirit of love; love for God, our neighbor and our self. Love, not perfection. The reasoned approach, from the Greek Stoics and the ancient Asian teachers up to the practitioners of Rational Emotive/Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is: “Most problems have imperfect solutions and therefore my task is to accept those imperfect answers, make them work the best I can and tolerate their imperfections.”
The Rich Young Man (Matthew 19:16ff, Mark 10:17ff) thought he was perfect to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He had done everything correctly. He followed all the rules, the laws, and the commandments and he still fell short of perfection. Jesus told him his growth point was within, his attachment to physical things. The disciples were “astounded” at Jesus’ message and wondered who might ever be saved. Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26, NRSV) Our demand for perfection in ourselves (or more often perfection in others) is doomed to failure. In God is our hope and our salvation as perfectly, imperfect humans.
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