I recently saw a post that said something along the lines of, "Be the best at whatever you do," and it struck me as slightly far-fetched. How can we all be the best at our jobs? Wouldn't it be more realistic to strive for hard-working, dependable, competent?
Maybe. But it reminds me of our objective as followers of Christ, who very specifically instructs us to "be perfect" as God is perfect. Rest assured, Christ knows this goal is eons beyond our reach. We are innately flawed beings; our attempts at perfection are like filthy rags before him. But he doesn't give us the option of striving for well-meaning or decent or any other wishy-washy middle ground.
Be perfect, just as your father in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:48).
The word "perfect" as derived from Latin means literally "complete" or "done through." It is thoroughness and completion, diligence and the highest standards. It is striving for an unattainable goal to reach attainable improvement. This directive applies to all areas of our lives because we are to represent Christ in all things, and it's majorly daunting, but remember: Christ is our strength and sustenance in all things, too. He gives us the goal, but he also equips us with the tools we need to reach for it.
We need to be gentle with ourselves. We will make mistakes. We will need time to learn skills and hone them. The point of this post is not to dredge up guilt for all the times we've slipped up in our work, but to help us move past that. Like our walk with Christ, our work in this world should be a constant journey of improvement. When we make mistakes, we can learn from them. When we're critiqued, we can thank God and accept that advice as our next GPS coordinate on the path to "perfect."
Above all, we can dedicate our work to God and ask Him to bless it, as Moses did.
Let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands. (Psalm 90:17)
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