Perfection as maturity

  With working at Wal Mart, I am blessed with some very interesting interactions with others, whether with coworkers or customers.  Recently I was doing some stocking and a customer asked if she was in the way, and I replied "nope, your perfect" and her response is what caught my attention.  She replied that she wished I could tell her husband and boss that and then she walked away. I could tell that this was a loaded statement and there seemed to be a lot of emotion behind it.  I didn't know how to take this and I just went about my work, but this phrase has stuck with me ever sense.  

  In America we are concerned with perfection, whether it is finding the perfect spouse, having the perfect kids, to the vehicles we drive, teams we cheer for and various other areas in our life.  Our dominate view of perfection is that something that has no flaws or imperfections.  In essence there is nothing wrong with it and it does what it is suppose to do.  To add a Biblical definition of perfection, it means that something is sinless and without a blemish.  In essence, this is one of God's major and overarching characteristics and God commands us to be perfect.  So does God demand us to be perfect, as in without blemish in our thoughts, words and actions every minute of every day?  The other side of this argument is that we will never see that form of perfection this side of heaven, even though we can try, we will fail.  I think there just might be a middle ground here somewhere, but first we need to expand this idea of perfection.  Yes it still means without blemish, but there is also a sense that perfection is doing completely what one is created to do.  We all know that brooms can not cure cancer because that is not what it was created for.  It was created to sweep up floors and to collect dirt.  As long as it does this, its a perfect broom.  The same can be said for us as people.  Are we doing what we are created for.  Here are some things that I think we are created for, and its more than just about vocation, and lifestyle. 

   The first idea of perfection and maybe the most important one is the idea of maturity.  Maturity is more than just doing things or not doing things, I think it is a mind set.  If its just about doing or not doing things, it turns us into being a legalist and honestly it burns me out just thinking about it.  Being the legalist is all about the rules of what one can and can not do.  In essence, its all about me.  With maturity, there is still a concern for rules and lifestyles, but there is a different outlook on them.  Not only are we suppose to ask how does doing or not doing something help or hinder me, but also the people around me.  Maturity is taking inventory of where one is at and knowing where one is going and doing the necessary things to get there

  The second idea of perfection is this idea of relationships.  As much as some of us want to hide in a hole most days, we have to interact with others.  Whether it is with God, family, friends, co workers or people that you feel you have no need for, I think we need to be reminded that we are not an island.  My challenge to all of us is to name the top five people we interact with on either a daily or weekly basis.  How are we being influenced by them and how are we influencing their character.  A big part of being perfect, or maturity as I like to call it is how we interact with others.  Are we challenging ourselves and others to a higher standard, or are we stuck in the same place for the last five years, or are we resorting to junior high behavior?

  The other side of the relational side of perfection is our relationship with God.  We all are being conformed into something or someone's likeness.  If we are going with the definition of perfection of doing what we are created to do, the only way we know what we are created to do and to do with it with any success is to spend time with the Creator.  If you want to know what something does and its full potential, not only do you read the owners manual, but you talk to the creator of the invention.  With the help of the Creator of the Universe is the only way we can live up to what we are created for.  I can do some things on my computer, but if I were to read the owners manual and spend time with a computer engineer, I can use my computer for so much more and it was designed to do those things.

  The third thing about perfection or maturity as I like to call it is that we grow in love.  It is not a conceded love that just cares for us and what we can get out of life, but a perfect love that grows and wants the best out of ourselves, but others as well.  This love is sacrificial and it often pushes us out of our comfort zone.  This love seeks to be in healthy and growing relationships.  This means that we are not only seeking forgiveness from others, granting the same, and we even find ways to right the wrongs that have been committed through act of justice.  Love and justice is about being in right relationship with others and this means not only supporting each other but we are also looking for ways to have healthy boundaries.  Having healthy boundaries means that we have set rules in place not only for a sense that we feel that some things are wrong, but if we do them, it has a detrimental affect on not only us, but the people around us. 

  I know there is more about perfection or maturity that can be said, but lets save that for another time