We all know at least one perfectionist. They might reside in your home, at your workplace, or in your school. They might be the friend who plans things far in advance (how can they schedule a coffee date 3 months away?). The devil, or the salvation of the world, is in the details over which they scrupulously ponder. Often, these type A people are natural born leaders who challenge others to be great in everything they do. They lovingly remind you of assignments, tests, due dates and work deadlines. The work ethic is remarkable and inspiring.
However, if you are not a perfectionist (like me!), these types of people may get on your nerves. You are a non-perfectionist, aka normal. You find delight in procrastination because hanging out with friends is far better than doing assignments. Scrolling through Facebook or catching up on a good show sounds a lot better than responding immediately to emails or attain the “illustrious” zero-inbox/zero-notification goal. Doing things last minute with only the required amount of concentration is satisfactory for something that you find unimportant or un-meaningful. Essentially, you do not possess keen skills or a strong desire to be that type of person because, well you just aren’t.
But what happens when you find something worthwhile, a task, a mission, a responsibility worth being a perfectionist over? This is where all of the wisdom of your perfectionist friend comes in. We know what we have to do, and so we try. We set the alarm clock far earlier than we want, we meal prepped (pizza counts, right?), we even made a to-do list and mildly color-coordinated it. Yet, on Monday, and on Tuesday, and most likely, the rest of the week, we found ourselves being the same non-perfectionist person we’ve always been. And, if we are anything alike, you may have found yourself frustrated and overwhelmed.
We feel these things because we found something worthwhile to dive into. In fact, we found several! When we look around, we see so many concerning issues like racial reconciliation, caring for the poor, the immigrant, the refugee, the innocent. Issues like caring for the environment, ending sex slavery and human trafficking, getting involved in your local community, and for the Christian, the mission to proclaim the good news of Jesus to a hurting world. Our examples of meaningful change in these areas are from people who devoted their entire lives to these issues. These people were seemingly perfectionists in their own right, and we really can learn a lot from them. But now, when we take our cues from our perfectionist family members, friends, and coworkers, we end up in despair because it looks like we haven’t accomplished much of anything.
Perhaps this is where perfectionists and non-perfectionists alike can meet in solidarity. If our goal is perfection or even near perfection, we will time and time again, fail miserably and feel terrible. We run around (some more scheduled than others) but at the end of the day, these issues are not resolved and it seems that while took a few steps forward, the end of the race seems no closer than when we started. There are so many important things to do, but we cannot do them all perfectly. We become overwhelmed and crippled by inaction. This perfectionist outlook that is enjoyed by some and adopted by others can produce some terrifying questions in our souls. Do my actions matter? Does God love me when I fail? Is all of this effort even worth it?
Jesus presents a radical alternative to this outlook in the Kingdom. This kingdom that signifies God’s reign and perfect rule over all things, a reality that in light of the resurrection, is now and not yet available. For the followers of Jesus, this kingdom is something that can be participated in – something that changes the world. Throughout the gospels, Jesus explains through many parables about this Kingdom of God. He says:
What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened. (Luke 13:18-21)
This mustard seed and this leaven are tiny, yet they do extraordinary things. They sprout and they spread to provide shelter and tasty sustenance. Though small and seemingly insignificant, they are infectious. N.T. Wright ties these Kingdom phrases with the preceding account of Jesus’ healing of the crippled woman:
One action in one synagogue on one Sabbath; what can this achieve? But when Jesus sows the seed of the kingdom, nobody knows what will result . . . One healing of one woman – but every time you break the satanic chains that have tied people up, another victory is won which will go on having repercussions.[1]
In that synagogue, on that Sabbath, Jesus helped one person. He did not end all diseases, nor cure every cripple, just this one. Yet, he saw immense worth in that action. His time that Sabbath was well spent, even though there was still work to be done.
Our actions do matter. We can participate in the Kingdom of God through the big actions and o the seemingly small and insignificant ones. This means that while we can’t single-handedly end world hunger, we can feed someone in need. While we can’t undo environmental pollution by ourselves, we can pick up that stray piece of litter. While we probably can’t stop the sex trade industry in one fell swoop, we can start meaningful conversations in our communities about the harm of pornography. These small kingdom acts are like mustard seeds sown in faith, that God will cause to grow.
That is the other part of the good news of the Kingdom. It is partly now because God has initiated it. Jesus Christ became human entering into this broken world, and he began to redeem it. He has revealed definitively that God is one who is with us and who has chosen to be for us. His kingdom – the now and not yet rule of God is something to be experienced and participated in. Fortunately, he does not demand perfectionism from his followers. Kingdom success is not measured by production or performance, but by faithfulness. Be faithful in the little actions. To Jesus, those insignificant exchanges we experience in our day-to-day lives are immeasurably valuable. Let us seek the Kingdom of God and not waste them.
[1] Tom Wright, Luke for Everyone, 2nd ed. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004), 167.
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