The Pursuit of Perfection
The Super Bowl is awarded the most watched American broadcast of the year almost every year. Many even say that football has taken over what used to be the Lord’s day… Sunday. Super Bowl “LV” was one like no other as it staged a 43-year-old legend with six championships (Tom Brady), against a 25-year-old MVP who many claim will be the most talented quarterback of all time (Patrick Mahomes). After two weeks of great anticipation, game day arrived and in true Tom Brady fashion, he released a Super Bowl hype video for his supporters. The video is exactly what you would expect… emotional, thought provoking, and legendary. But one line out of his video stood out to me more than any other. “Everyone is searching for perfection, but there is not perfection, there is only the pursuit of perfection”. I think it’s safe to say that a man who spends millions of dollars on his bodily health, devotes countless hours to reviewing game film, and strictly follows a daily routine for excellence would know a little something about the pursuit of perfection. While he may only be speaking about football, how much more does this quote relate to the daily life of the Christian, to our relationships and more specifically our testimonies.
The term “discipline” is not often a buzz word in Christianity today, but should it be? If you dive into the New Testament, there are countless athletic references. These references include 1 Corinthians 9:24–27, 2nd Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 12:1, and 2nd Timothy 4:7 just to name a few. One of the most glossed over topics in Christianity today is the perseverance and “discipline” that it takes to grow in your faith. While it is true, we are saved by grace (and GRACE ALONE, this is not a works-based salvation blog so don’t go there!), we are sanctified through dying to self which is accompanied by perseverance and discipline. Stephen Curry is known as the greatest shooter of all time. Is this solely because of his God given natural ability? Curry, standing only at 6’1” and a lanky 6’1” at that, certainly doesn’t look like a 2-time unanimous NBA MVP and 3-time NBA champion. His great gift is magnified by the stewardship of it, and that includes discipline. On average, Stephen Curry makes 500 shots per day. MAKES. That means that he is not concerned whether it takes him 1,000 shots to get to 500, or 2,000 shots to get to 500, he’s getting to 500. That is discipline.
Now how can we relate this to our own lives? Relationships take work. Many have heard the cliché; love is a verb. You know why it is cliché? Because it’s true! Our relationships with those around us will never be perfect, it won’t always be sunshine and rainbows. Transparently, in the beginning of my relationship with my fiancé, she or I could do no wrong. We were so in love that the little things (or big) didn’t matter. However, as the months progressed, the little things began to become an issue until we collapsed and had to hit reset on our relationship. If I am going to be the best man that I can be for her and hopefully the best father I can be to my kids one day, then it’s going to take work (and for me a lot of work!). This work will need to take place when I feel like it, and when I don’t feel like it. Bottom line, discipline to keep “pursuing perfection” is what will allow me to love my family right and be the husband and father God has called me to be.
In the same way, if we want to grow in our Christian faith, we need to be disciplined in our prayer time, disciplined in our devotions, disciplined in our church attendance, and disciplined in our thoughts. What does spiritual discipline look like? Believing and trusting in God even when our feelings or thoughts do not. It is a conscious, yet spiritual decision to believe God more than you believe yourself, to want God more than you want the world and to seek God’s will above your own. We all know that our hearts are wicked and deceitful amongst all things (Jeremiah 17:9). God gave everyone what we need to grow in our faith when He gave us the Holy Spirit. From it, every good fruit grows. However, just like when the farmer plants the seeds for the harvest and the fruit does not grow right away, we too are in constant need of growing. Sanctification takes time, perseverance, willingness to learn, and a daily, sometimes moment to moment dying to self. It takes discipline.
Now I know that some of you who are reading this are inherently “people pleasers” and therefore turn into “God pleasers”. If that is you, you more than likely feel that your standing with God is determined by how you act on a day-to-day basis. Hear me. That is not true. God cannot love you more than he already does (Romans 8:38) and there is no room for condemnation in the lives of God’s children (Romans 8:1). Our work should not be done out of our own strength because that will never produce spiritual fruit. Instead, let your actions flow from the love shown us by God’s sacrifice on the cross and His gift of the Holy Spirit. If our goal is sanctification, then grace has to be our motivation. If our goal is spiritual discipline, then God must be the supplier. God has given all Christians all things pertaining to life and godliness, and better yet He is the power source! The more we die to our self-dependent flesh, the more we can live in the confidence and discipline that comes from living in complete God-dependence. The real question is, are you willing to die, so that you can truly live? (2nd Peter 1:3)?
