but those who hate to be rebuked are stupid.”
Perfection. I think it’s something that many of us wish we could achieve. Think about how many millions of dollars we spend to fix up things (including ourselves). We buy new cars (because the old ones aren’t perfect . . . they keep breaking down). We remodel and redecorate our homes I order to have the latest appliances, cabinets, and decor (because the old isn’t perfect; it looks outdated). We arrange for plastic surgery, make-overs, new clothes because the old is, well, just tired looking.
We are looking for perfection. But in our quest, we often look in the wrong places. Sort of like the boy who put his finger in the dike, hoping to stave off the levy breaking, we put our efforts into trying to hold off the effects of sin in our world. The fact is, everything (including our own bodies) is someday going to be destroyed. Revelation 21:1 tells us: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more” (NRSV). We put wasted effort into trying to make things here on this earth perfect. Now, there’s nothing wrong with maintaining what we have. That’s good stewardship of the blessings God has given. But when our focus is upon trying to find perfection in the things of this earth, we are spinning our wheels.
On the other hand, there is a place in our lives where we can strive for perfection and that is in our character, in how much we are imitating Christ. But the fact is, that is often the one place we really don’t want to have change. We like who we are, foibles and all. We’d like to think that our opinions, our worldview, our decisions are fine, rather than looking at them skeptically, understanding that we usually make choices based on our lusts rather than from the perspective of the Holy Spirit. James 5:16 tells us to confess our sins to each other. Why? Because our own judgment is suspect. We will, at all times, try to defend and protect our ego and it’s our ego that gets us into trouble.
Paul, in Romans 7, talks about how we often do what is sinful rather than doing what is righteous. It is the reason that we need each other as believers. While we may not be able to make the right decision (because we are emotionally enmeshed in the situation), our brothers and sisters may have a more objective view, may be able to hear from the Holy Spirit when we cannot. Additionally, there are many elder believers who have walked where we are now and intimately know the pitfalls. They are willing to help us through the difficult situation if we will only listen.
Here in America we are independent beyond belief. We would like to believe that we can stand on our own two feet without the help from anyone else. Sort of a Christian John Wayne approach. But the fact is that we need each other. We need to be willing to listen to the discipline (the teachings) of others and to embrace rebukes so that we might actually learn how to fully imitate Christ, to listen always to the teachings of the Holy Spirit.
© 2008 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. International copyright reserved. This study may be copied for nonprofit and/or church purposes only without permission when copied in its entirety (including this notice).
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