"That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not."
Psalms 64:4
This idea of shooting at the perfect unfortunately seems to be a popular one in our society. It's a tempting one because when we feel inadequate it can sometimes make us feel better to see other people failing as well, or to show that others are not as perfect as they seem. Seeing other people fail can make us feel that failure is okay, and normal.
Like all of Satan's tactics however, these are all corruptions and half-truths. Failure *is* normal, but giving up and wallowing in it is deadly. Instead we have to keep getting back up and trying again. Embracing the idea of shooting at the perfect only serves to destroy us. It teaches us mockery and scorn and hatred rather than service and support and love. It teaches us criticism rather than compassion; failure over friendship.
Jesus Christ was perfect. He stands as our ideal, our example, our goal. Killing him did nothing to diminish him, but only condemned others. Similarly, tearing others down in our own lives does nothing to build us up. It only destroys us further.
Today, let's build each other up, helping those that admire us, and learning from those we admire. Let's not set the perfect up for target practice, but instead work on becoming more perfect ourselves... both individually and as a community, striving together to emulate Christ. Let's shoot *for* perfection rather than shooting *at* perfection.
Psalms 64:4
This idea of shooting at the perfect unfortunately seems to be a popular one in our society. It's a tempting one because when we feel inadequate it can sometimes make us feel better to see other people failing as well, or to show that others are not as perfect as they seem. Seeing other people fail can make us feel that failure is okay, and normal.
Like all of Satan's tactics however, these are all corruptions and half-truths. Failure *is* normal, but giving up and wallowing in it is deadly. Instead we have to keep getting back up and trying again. Embracing the idea of shooting at the perfect only serves to destroy us. It teaches us mockery and scorn and hatred rather than service and support and love. It teaches us criticism rather than compassion; failure over friendship.
Jesus Christ was perfect. He stands as our ideal, our example, our goal. Killing him did nothing to diminish him, but only condemned others. Similarly, tearing others down in our own lives does nothing to build us up. It only destroys us further.
Today, let's build each other up, helping those that admire us, and learning from those we admire. Let's not set the perfect up for target practice, but instead work on becoming more perfect ourselves... both individually and as a community, striving together to emulate Christ. Let's shoot *for* perfection rather than shooting *at* perfection.
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