Our Imperfections

Chuckle: Ted: “You seem unhappy.” Roger: “Yeah, I am. Living with my mother-in law has been stressful and hard on both me and my wife.” Ted: “Well, if it gets really bad, you could just ask her to move out.” Roger: “We can’t. It’s her house.”

Quote: “Gladly we desire to make other men perfect but we will not amend our own fault.” --Thomas a Kempis

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 NIV). “Stop judging others . . . First get rid of the log in your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye” (Matthew 7:1,5 NLT).

Isn’t it amazing how clearly we can see imperfections in others, but are totally blind when it comes to seeing our own? Many of us are really umpires at heart; we enjoy calling balls and strikes on someone else. But as we persist in judging others, we may come to view their minor imperfections as major while seeing our own major faults as minor and insignificant. Have you ever honestly taken stock of your imperfections? When you do, it may not be a very pleasant task. We all have blemishes and imperfections. For some, they are physical limitations. To others, they may be mental/emotional. Of course, our most serious imperfections are spiritual – originating from our propensity for sin.

By what standard should we measure our imperfections? This is the most important question we must answer if we are to honestly evaluate ourselves. The temptation is to say, “compared to others I know, I’m not so bad.” However, comparing our imperfect lives to those of other imperfect people will not give us the answers we should desire. No, when we begin to measure our imperfections against God’s standards, as spelled out in His Word, we are ready to let God’s Holy Spirit convict us and give us the strength to deal with our imperfections – that is if we are truly repentant.

Our imperfections, from God’s point of view, are called sins, even though we would prefer to call them missteps, mistakes, errors, shortcomings, etc. The most dangerous way to live with our imperfections is to become comfortable with them and go through life as if there is no need for alarm. The apostle Paul lived as close to perfection in his relationship with his Lord as any Christian who has ever lived. Yet, Paul was keenly aware of how far he was from spiritual maturity and perfection. Here’s what he has to say.

“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be” (Philippians 3:12 NLT).

Instead of finding imperfections in others, we are well served by turning our faults and imperfections over to God and let Him deal with them. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NIV).

Love, Jerry & Dotse