How to be Perfectly Imperfect
We’ve all done it. We’ve hit send, then noticed a misspelled word or poor grammar in a text or email. When a mistake is found in one of my books after it’s been printed, I get that hollow feeling like my stomach turned to stone and sank to my toes. I realize the quality of my writing will be judged on that error. It pains me because my desire is for readers to be uplifted by the story’s message, but I know that some won’t be able to see past the mistake(s). All my hard work and efforts could be discredited over a slight imperfection.
Paul, who preached about Jesus' resurrection and redeeming love, had to have been an excellent tentmaker. How can I claim that? I’ve never witnessed his craftsmanship nor spoken directly with any of his customers. However, unless relational dynamics and human nature have undergone drastic changes, I can almost guarantee that Paul made high-quality tents. If he hadn’t, he would have lost credibility with those coming to hear his message.
As Christians, we all should strive to do everything with excellence as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23). We don’t want to lose the impact of our testimony due to lousy living and subpar work. It’s important to strive to live an upstanding life. Author and Speaker, John Maxwell said, “No one stands in line for average. We are not called to be average. We were never meant to be average.”
Does this mean we must be perfect? Not exactly. We’re all human and we’re going to make mistakes. Only God’s ways are perfect (Psalm 18:30). Humanity and humility sound and look similar. Realizing we strive for excellence but will fall short helps us boast in the Lord all the more, because we can’t do it in our own power, only in His.
Why bother trying if perfection and excellence are out of our reach? Because it’s not perfection that makes us valuable to God. In a time of AI, when emails, texts, articles, and documents can be crafted without a single error, our humanity becomes more valuable. Chess matches where computers compete against other computers are boring. What makes chess matches, sports games, and competitions exciting is the human element to them. It’s the risk that one mess-up could blow the whole game, or one incredible shot could win it.
We are like the Japanese art of Kintsugi. Also known as golden joinery, where cracked pottery is made beautiful by highlighting the imperfections. Our imperfections make us relatable to others. Our past failures and sufferings make us a valuable resource, not merely of what not to do, but of our resilience in overcoming, learning, and striving to do better. The author of Hebrews (20:24) tells us to run the race. He doesn’t mention winning. The race has already been won. God holds the victory. We are called to finish the race, to persevere, for His glory.
It’s a challenging goal to strive for excellence, knowing we’ll never obtain it, but it honors God. God will bless our journey, plans, and purpose when we strive for excellence, but we must do so with the faith and humility that God will cover our mistakes.
