From The Storyteller
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April 16, 2018, Perfect
“Perfect defeats very good every time.” Sunday morning and the question asked is a traditional one. “Everyone, who is perfect, raise your hand.” I am the only one in the room to raise my hand, and the class leader’s discomfort was easy to spot. “How’s that?” “Easy, God made me a human being, human beings have flaws, and I have many flaws, therefore I am a perfect human being.” The room laughs, the leader smiles, and we go on. That morning’s point – when God finished creation, He declared it, “...very good”, not perfect. I failed to make the children’s choir at church for reasons unknown to me. I never had any of my grade school art projects win awards. My baseball career ended by age 12 because I couldn’t hit a curve ball. Each year the track and field events saw other kids win the ribbons. I was too small to be a fighter, and not smart enough to be the “smart kid”. I stopped performance singing and art class drawing by the 6th grade, and by the 9th grade left the bulk of athletics to others. My “very good” would never be equal to the other kid’s “perfect”, so moving on seemed like a good idea. No sour grapes here. Life let me discover all I needed, to enjoy being alive, was “very good.” Two real life examples - I didn’t top the class in Law school, but “very good” passed the bar, and for 26 years helped a lot of people. Conversely, a friend who was a PHD candidate, withdrew when his “very good” dissertation draft never felt “perfect” enough to submit. Life lesson – “Perfect” is a black hole trap for humans. Let “very good” be your goal and you will sleep better. Moral: Perfect defeats very good every time. |