Be Perfect | Sermon on the Mount
Welcome to Real Life. What does perfection look like?
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.[1]
Jesus gave this command in his Sermon on the Mount. But, no one is perfect. So how can I live this out? What is God’s idea of perfection?
For years, I battled perfectionism. (I still do at
times.) I keenly felt my imperfections. I felt “less than,” like I wasn’t quite as good as everyone else. Because I misinterpreted Jesus’ words, I let them fuel an unhealthy drive for perfection. I tried to look flawless: I didn’t drink or smoke or swear. I dressed well. I kept a clean house. I was always at church. I prayed and studied and volunteered. I attempted to fulfill everyone’s expectations.
Yet the harder I worked towards perfection on the outside, the harder my heart grew on the inside. I was slowly evolving into a Pharisee, a hypocrite. Instead of “less than,” I began to think I was “more than.” Who else was trying so hard? Who else was serving to exhaustion? I focused on other’s faults to elevate my opinion of myself.
I sincerely thought I was on the road to “being perfect.” But, I was sincerely wrong. One morning as I headed outside for my daily walk, God revealed to me an image of my heart:
Like the Grinch, my heart had shriveled two sizes too small. I used to laugh at this picture, but not that day. That day, tears flowed as I walked the neighborhood. I grieved over who I had become. I prayed a simple prayer. I continue to pray it to this day:
Lord, change my heart. Expand my capacity to love. Give me a beautiful, perfect heart like yours.
What does it mean to “be perfect, as my heavenly Father is perfect”? Well, I’ve learned that it doesn’t mean to look perfect on the outside.
The LORD does not look at the things man looks at.
Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.[2]
After all Jesus lived a perfect live. Still, many considered him far from perfect. The religious leaders of his day thought he was a nut, a radical, a rebel. He didn’t conform to societal expectations. Jesus hung out with tax collectors and sinners (because he came to seek and save the lost). His disciples weren’t seminary graduates, but simple fishermen, a bit rough around the edges (but men who were purely devoted to God).
Yet on the inside, Jesus owned a perfect heart of love. He walked in perfect step with the Father. He was full of grace and truth. His heart perfectly reflected God’s heart. That’s what perfection is all about.
I have a long, long way to go to reach that beautiful, perfect heart. But at least now I’m on the right road!
[1] Matthew 5:48
[2] 1 Samuel 16:7b
