Process Of Perfection

Have you ever tried to do something “perfectly”? Something without flaw or defect in any way? 

For example, someone who is learning to play the piano for the first time will likely know very little about it. They will begin to learn all of the notes at the start, practicing and memorizing the location of the keys on the piano. Slowly they will begin to discern the different notes by ear, and play simple, easier songs. As they continue practicing they will slowly gain more and more skill and gradually progress further and further. 

Now a person could play for one day and say to themself, “Well, I think I have learned all that I need to know,” thinking they have perfected playing the piano, and not practice anymore, while the truth is that they still have much to learn. They might be able to find the keys and play the notes, but they can work on how hard they press on them, or timing the notes better. If they stop practicing after the first day, how can they continue to get better?

In school I took a typing class. I spent hours typing a single letter at a time. I would type the letter “a” over and over again. Then after a while I may have been told to switch to a different letter on the keyboard and practice that one for a while. At the time, I felt this was a complete waste of my time. I felt like I knew where the letter was and didn’t need to practice any more after that, but now looking back I understand why we were made to fill entire pages with a single letter, over and over again. It was so that we would become better and better, and faster. When we needed to type a letter, we could type without even needing to look at the keyboard, because we were slowly perfecting our “finger memory.” And today as I write this, any letter that I need to type I know exactly where it is, and I could type blindfolded. And while I still am not completely perfect, the more and more I type, I continually perfect my typing skills.

If I had stopped after the first day of typing the letter “a,” how would I know where all of the other letters were on the keyboard? But it was through the continuous training and practice that I got better.  

That is what the topic is about today. Not thinking yourself to be perfect, but to continue on getting better and better. Say for example that a person hears about Christ for the first time, is baptized, and says, “Well, I’m perfect now.” While they still have many things that they need to work on in their life. Maybe they used to tell mis-truths about other people. That is something that they need to work on. Instead of falsehoods, they need to speak the truth. Or maybe they forget to thank the Lord for everything He has given them; food, clothes, etc. They can work on keeping the Lord in their mind. There is always something that we can become better at, and continue to perfect.

“Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,” Philippians 3:12-13

As sinners we must be able to admit to ourselves that we are not perfect. And although Jesus is the only one who was able to live completely free of sin His entire life, that doesn’t mean that we should stop striving for perfection. Look at the apostle Peter. Peter wasn’t perfect. He was with Jesus, following His teachings, casting out devils, telling others about Christ. But he denied the Lord at the crucifixion. Later he was forgiven by the Lord, but that was something that he worked on in his life. Not being ashamed of Christ. He grew stronger in his faith, and later he was put into prison for his faith in Jesus. 

There is always some part of our lives that we can improve and perfect. It is when someone believes that they are perfect that they stop trying to become better.

None of us are perfect. We are a continual “work in progress” until the day we die. Never think that you are completely perfect, but keep on going in that process of perfection!

We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc  where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods.