I don’t know what to do with the word “perfect” here.  We are called to be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48), but I am not capable of being as holy or as perfect as God.  My problem is that I have difficulty reconciling how perfectionism, which according to the wisdom of the world is a laudable trait, can make someone feel so miserable.  Perfectionists set unreasonable standards for themselves and others, which often results in anxiety, fear of failure, procrastination – and damaged self-esteem when those unrealistic, self-set expectations are not met.  In fact, perfectionism runs counter to my understanding of how our relationship with God should be because it misleads the perfectionist into thinking our worth comes from our own accomplishments and abilities, when really our worth comes from our faith in Christ.  Perhaps the problem I have with “perfect,” then, is that I accept the world’s conventional wisdom about how important it is to be perfect and what that means.  I can’t help but think that it would be seen as foolishness in the eyes of God (I Corinthians 3). 

So instead of focusing on an ill-defined sense of “perfect,” look to how our heavenly Father is perfect to get a better idea of how we are called to live.  I read Matthew 5:48 in some other translations, and I found The Message to be helpful:  “Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”  The psalmist today gives a wonderful list of God’s traits, beginning with our response:  The Lord is kind and merciful.  We also see that God pardons and forgives, heals, brings compassion, is slow to anger.  When I read that He does not “requite us according to our crimes,” I can more readily understand why I am not to seek revenge, bear hatred, cherish grudges (Leviticus 19), retaliate or offer resistance (Matthew 5).

Thankfully, our loving and merciful Lord gives us some positive ways to focus our energies.  Love your neighbor as yourself is a great start, and then Jesus extends that with love your enemies.  Jesus then tells us to pray for our adversaries, which may seem hard but has the wonderful result of changing our own hearts so that we no longer consider them our enemies.  In Leviticus, God tells us to love and let go of hatred, anger, desire for vengeance, and grudges.  In the Gospels, Jesus tells us to love those who attack or take advantage of us.  When we obey, we benefit spiritually, mentally, emotionally and sometimes even physically as we let the Spirit take from us those sources of pain and bitterness.  When we love, as Christ commanded, we keep His word, and (as our Alleluia verse tell us) the love of God is truly perfected in us.  Perfect, just as our loving, merciful, forgiving, gracious heavenly Father is perfect.

(And to all you perfectionists out there:  Remember, God told us to love our neighbors and ourselves, so show yourself some loving mercy, too.)