Matthew 5:48 NIV
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Nobody's perfect. So how can Jesus expect us to be perfect? The Pharisees were very disciplined and intensely focused on keeping every letter of the law. They created laws to ensure one would keep the Law of Moses in every conceivable situation. And yet they are not good enough? We have to be better than the Pharisees? Puzzling! Such a teaching seems burdensome.
Wikipedia states,
"Perfectionism, in psychology, is a personality trait characterized by a person's striving for flawlessness and setting excessively high performance standards, accompanied by overly critical self-evaluations and concerns regarding others' evaluations." The dark side to perfectionism is that when one fails perfection they are unhappy and can slip into depression. Too much of their self worth is wrapped up in achieving high and unattainable goals.
Perfectionism, as a psychological orientation, is not Jesus' meaning. Instead Jesus is calling His disciples to become mature, full grown, complete, not lacking what is needed for righteousness.
By this point in the sermon, Jesus has established that the righteousness of His disciples must exceed that of the Pharisees. He shows how the values of the kingdom of heaven are different from the values of this world. He gives examples of what the higher righteousness looks like. Sinful behavior begins in the heart. That is where sin must be stopped. Lustful thinking may lead to fornication or adultery. Coveting can lead to theft, or unethical choices to get ahead. If we are to become full grown children of God, mature in our faith, our inner life needs transformation.
So how can we control our thinking? Martin Luther is reported to have said, "You can't keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from nesting in your hair." In other words we can't stop sinful thoughts from coming to mind, but we can keep from dwelling on such thoughts.
Paul said,
2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Take every thought captive and make it obey Christ. If we are monitoring our inner life, our thinking, we will more likely grow in righteousness and reach maturity in faith.
Does that make us perfect? Not in the sense that we never make a mistake, or that we always know the right thing to do. John Wesley taught that Christian perfection was attainable. Christian perfection is to reach a state where divine love is leading every action, guiding every word, and redeeming every thought. When every thought, word, and deed comes from God's love, we will be perfect, full grown in love.
I'm 54 years old. I'm not full grown emotionally, or psychological, or intellectually, but physically I am mature. I'm not spiritually mature either. I have some growing to do. I will likely be growing in my ability to think, speak and act like Jesus for the length of my mortal journey. But I have everything I need. In regards to righteousness, I don't lack a thing. Jesus reigns within my heart. I just need to allow Him to lead me onto perfect, full grown love.
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Nobody's perfect. So how can Jesus expect us to be perfect? The Pharisees were very disciplined and intensely focused on keeping every letter of the law. They created laws to ensure one would keep the Law of Moses in every conceivable situation. And yet they are not good enough? We have to be better than the Pharisees? Puzzling! Such a teaching seems burdensome.
Wikipedia states,
"Perfectionism, in psychology, is a personality trait characterized by a person's striving for flawlessness and setting excessively high performance standards, accompanied by overly critical self-evaluations and concerns regarding others' evaluations." The dark side to perfectionism is that when one fails perfection they are unhappy and can slip into depression. Too much of their self worth is wrapped up in achieving high and unattainable goals.
Perfectionism, as a psychological orientation, is not Jesus' meaning. Instead Jesus is calling His disciples to become mature, full grown, complete, not lacking what is needed for righteousness.
By this point in the sermon, Jesus has established that the righteousness of His disciples must exceed that of the Pharisees. He shows how the values of the kingdom of heaven are different from the values of this world. He gives examples of what the higher righteousness looks like. Sinful behavior begins in the heart. That is where sin must be stopped. Lustful thinking may lead to fornication or adultery. Coveting can lead to theft, or unethical choices to get ahead. If we are to become full grown children of God, mature in our faith, our inner life needs transformation.
So how can we control our thinking? Martin Luther is reported to have said, "You can't keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from nesting in your hair." In other words we can't stop sinful thoughts from coming to mind, but we can keep from dwelling on such thoughts.
Paul said,
2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Take every thought captive and make it obey Christ. If we are monitoring our inner life, our thinking, we will more likely grow in righteousness and reach maturity in faith.
Does that make us perfect? Not in the sense that we never make a mistake, or that we always know the right thing to do. John Wesley taught that Christian perfection was attainable. Christian perfection is to reach a state where divine love is leading every action, guiding every word, and redeeming every thought. When every thought, word, and deed comes from God's love, we will be perfect, full grown in love.
I'm 54 years old. I'm not full grown emotionally, or psychological, or intellectually, but physically I am mature. I'm not spiritually mature either. I have some growing to do. I will likely be growing in my ability to think, speak and act like Jesus for the length of my mortal journey. But I have everything I need. In regards to righteousness, I don't lack a thing. Jesus reigns within my heart. I just need to allow Him to lead me onto perfect, full grown love.
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