Have you ever been happy with second best? Have you ever been excited just to make the top five of a competition?
This winter, Corrie played soccer with the indoor soccer league in Kamloops. They just finished a few weeks ago where they played through the playoffs and won the tournament. It was very exciting for the entire team, but as they were celebrating, I looked over at the team they had just beat. One of the players suddenly cheered and said, "Hey, we got second place!" and the team all cheered.
Has that ever been you? That pretty much describes me my whole life. At the many track and field events I was a part of during my school years, my brother would often come home with all sorts of first place ribbons. I came home with a few second and third place ribbons, and I was always excited about them. I was into mountain bike racing in high school, never got first place, but was always very happy with my second, third, or fourth place finishes. I was happy to be second best. I was satisfied just to say I'd beaten most of the field, rather than wishing I had made first place instead.
Of course, placing in the top five of a competition is always a great achievement to be sure. I will never be disappointed with a good finish, and I would never express disappointment if my kids did the same.
But have you ever been satisfied with second best?
There's an opposite extreme as well. How many of you would admit to being a perfectionist? Does it drive you completely mad when things are exactly like you think they should? Would a second place finish be considered a failure? I work with a perfectionist. It is exhausting and frustrating for both of us. For her, she's frustrated that we can release work that isn't completely perfect. For us, it's frustrating that she has to pick at every tiny detail and make a fuss out of something that isn't perfect, when it is workable. Some perfectionists go to an even greater extreme and become what we have learned to be Obsessive Compulsive. Ever seen the show Monk? Demanding such high levels of perfection from ourselves can lead us into a life that is full of disappointment and frustration.
When it comes to our everyday lives, we must learn a balance between striving for perfection, yet being satisfied with our best efforts if they don't yield the top results we were hoping for in the first place. There are areas in our lives where being satisfied with your best efforts is sufficient. Being happy that you simply placed second is a reason for celebration. But there is one area that second best is just not good enough.
Jesus commanded that we be perfect, just as his father in heaven was perfect. Let's read Matthew 5:48
48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Pretty short. Pretty much to the point. A bit difficult to read between the lines on this one. Jesus commanded it, God expects it, we are to be perfect.
Well, I might as well quit right now! How could I possibly live up to such an expectation? I know, as we all do, that this is an impossible command. Only Jesus was able to live on this earth as a perfect human being. No one before, and no one after, could ever accomplish such a feat. I'm just happy if I make it through the first few hours of my day without falling.
However, before we throw in the towel, let's read a bit more of the context of this verse and see if we can figure out what triggered Jesus to utter such a seemingly unattainable command.
At the beginning of this chapter, Jesus starts with the beatitudes. God blesses those who are poor, those who realize their need for him, those who are humble, merciful, and so on. Jesus' sermon on the mount starts with a focus on those who would be viewed by others as coming in second place. Poor, mourning, persecuted. Jesus tells the people to be happy in persecution, for their reward is in heaven. The sermon moves on to comparing his followers to salt, or to a light.
But then Jesus moves onto discussing the law of Moses. If you took the time, and I encourage you all to do so, read through the commandments and regulations that were given to the Israelites in the Old Testament. The law was strict. The law was impossible for humans to follow completely. But the law was perfect, and it demanded perfection of those striving to follow it. Jesus states here that he did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Let's read a section of chapter five, starting at verse 17.
17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. 19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
20 “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!
Jesus shows that only a perfect person would have even a chance at entering heaven. When he stated this, do you not think there were a lot of very disappointed and discouraged listeners in the crowd? Really? Jesus expects me to be better than even the Pharisees? Fat chance that's going to happen.
Jesus continues with verse 21.
21 “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’[d] 22 But I say, if you are even angry with someone,[e] you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot,[f] you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone,[g] you are in danger of the fires of hell.[h]
Did Jesus really just compare murder to calling someone an idiot? Suddenly, Jesus is ramping up the expectation scale. The requirements that he is placing in front of the people are starting to become extremely steep. What next? Verse 27 is what.
27 “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’[k] 28 But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
I would imagine at this point the crowd would be getting pretty silent. Anyone hearing this sermon must've been thinking pretty hard about their own lives. I just called this guy an idiot, I'm as bad as a murderer. And now Jesus has just said that even thinking lustfully about another person is committing adultery in my heart. Wow. Can anyone stand? Can anyone live up to these rules? Even my own thoughts condemn us.
Jesus continues and talks about taking vows.
33 “You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’[o] 34 But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne.35 And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. 36 Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. 37 Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.
Is this a bit of relief here? Jesus must realize that we cannot be perfect, because here he actually recommends that we don't make ANY vows. Why would he say this unless he indeed does realize that we're not perfect? Jesus shows here that a simple 'Yes, I will' or 'No, I won't' is all that is required. Do not vow what you cannot follow through on. Let your yes be yes, and your no be no. Yet, even in that simplicity, Jesus has still raised the perfection bar. For how many times have you made a promise that you had to break? How many times was your yes NOT yes, or your no NO no?
Finally, let's read the verses that lead up to Jesus' command of perfection, starting at verse 38.
38 “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’[p] 39 But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.40 If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. 41 If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile,[q] carry it two miles. 42 Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.
43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’[r] and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies![s]Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends,[t] how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Jesus is demanding perfection in our walk with God. He knows our human nature. Human nature is to strike back when we've been hit, yet Jesus says to do the opposite, to turn the other cheek. Human nature is to appeal if we're in a situation where the courts rule against us. Yet Jesus says to not only give them what was demanded of us by the courts, but to go beyond and give them even more. But the final statement Jesus makes here was probably the hardest for the Jews to hear. During the time of Jesus, the Israelites were under daily oppression and persecution from the Roman soldiers. They were slaves, and treated like a lower life form. Soldiers would often make the Jews complete tasks for them whenever they made the demand. Jesus brings up this situation, saying that if a soldier demands that they stop what they're doing and carry his gear for a mile, they were to carry it for two miles instead. Do you work for someone that you can't stand? Jesus says that when they demand something of you, you are not only supposed to complete the task, but complete it twice as well as they are expecting.
Is Jesus demanding perfection here? Yes, he is. But he is demanding it in the lives of those committed to him. Jesus continues to show that going the "extra mile" is demonstrating a difference. It is a witness of God in us. God treats us all the same, letting the sun shine and the rain drop on both the "just and the unjust alike". Jesus makes a point to say that only loving those who love us, or being kind to only those who are kind to us is nothing special. Yet loving those who don't love us, or being kind to those who are unkind, are the expectations God has for us. By doing so, we will show that we are different because of Christ living through us.
We are to be perfect, as God is perfect and he lives through us.
Strive for perfection. Strive for that first place prize. Second place here is NOT good enough.
However, we must take caution here. The Pharisees strived for perfection, and we all know how Jesus saw them. He called them a brood of vipers! We can easily get caught up in trying to perfectly follow every detail of the law. Maybe you've met some Pharisees in your own lives? These people have no room for grace. They are all about the law. Jesus made it very clear here that if we were to live this way, we would have to follow the law 100%. Impossible. And for this, Jesus died. We could not, so he did. We fall short, so he stood tall. By grace we are saved. It is not by what we've done, but because of Jesus.
Because of grace, we can fall short of the requirements of the law and yet still stand before God's throne pure and holy.
Yet, Jesus demanded our perfection after he demanded that we love our enemies. Jesus knew that life without love was no life at all. Paul stated this in 1 Corinthians chapter 13.
If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
Perfection without love is just noise!
Does Jesus know we're not perfect? Of course. So why would he demand this from us? Because he knows that we must always be striving, always be trying, always be reaching for that goal. Is the goal unattainable? In this life, yes. Yet we are never to sit back, never be satisfied with the love that we have shown or demonstrated. We must be striving for that day when we can treat everyone with the love of Jesus. That means that demanding, unappreciative boss you work under. That means that husband that couldn't seem to care any less about you. That means the parents that may have abandoned you. Jesus says to love everyone, to walk that extra mile for those that are persecuting us, to turn the other cheek for those that strike us. This is the perfection Jesus demands. And this is the perfection we must strive to achieve. Benjamin Franklin once said that we should not fear mistakes, that we will all know failure, but we must continue to reach out. And that is what Jesus is demanding. He knows full well that we will fail, we will fall flat on our faces. Yet, he also knows that in striving to be perfect in demonstrating his love, we will shine like the city on the hill. Jesus demonstrated this love to all of us by praying for those that hung him on the cross and killed him. He never had thoughts of anger or revenge, but only love. And that is the goal we must aim for in our lives. Can we truly show love to all of those around us, regardless of how they may treat us?
Be perfect.
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