Philippians 3:12 (NIV)
Pressing on Toward the Goal
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me
1 Peter 1:16 (NIV) states, "for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
What we must understand is that perfection and excellence have the same goal, we are striving to become perfect, we will not obtain perfection in this lifetime (impossibility)... we will not become perfect until we are in Eternal union with The One who is 'Worth It', but we must strive, we must 'press on' towards this perfection and this striving is what is known as excellence...
Perfection is the goal (Eternal Life), excellence is the way to achieve it....
No one is perfect... that's why pencils have erasers. ~Author Unknown
So how does this relate to our everyday lives? Here is a list of trying to achieve perfection in the here and now and excellence which is achievable in the here and now...
Perfection says, "It's partly cloudy"
Excellence says "It's partly sunny"
Perfection is throwing one interception and losing confidence
Excellence is throwing 5 interceptions, yet coming back to lead your team to victory (see Dallas Cowboys vs Buffalo Bills week 5, 2007 NFL)
Perfection is performance based
Excellence is based on improvement
Perfection can make a victory become a failure
Excellence can turn a failure into victory
Edison example (invention of a battery): Edison must be ready to quit after having performed some 50,000 tests without success. "You must be pretty downhearted with the lack of progress", the assistant said. Edison replied, "Downhearted? We've made a lot of progress. At least we know 50,000 things that won't work!"
Perfection says, "God I am in control"
Excellence says, "God I am yours"
Perfection states intentions
Excellence creates actions
Perfection leads to insecurity
Excellence leads to greatness ( A human being in The Hands of God is an amazing tool for Greatness - Erwin McManus)
Perfection fears mistakes
Excellence sees opportunities
Perfection leads to a mess
Excellence leads to God creating a work of beauty out of our mess
Here are some inspiring quotes to sum it all up!
A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault. ~John Henry Newman
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack in everything,
That's how the light gets in.
~Leonard Cohen
To escape criticism - do nothing, say nothing, be nothing. ~Elbert Hubbard
Once you accept the fact that you're not perfect, then you develop some confidence. ~Rosalynn Carter
A person's pursuit of goodness leads to greatness, but the pursuit of greatness leads to ruin, Pursue goodness and you will achieve great things. ~ John E Kramer Vice pres for communications Institute for Justice
Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.
~Henry van Dyke
