PREFER PERFECTION TO GOOD AND ACCEPTABLE

PREFER PERFECTION TO GOOD AND ACCEPTABLE

“…Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God”- Gen. 6:9(NKJV)

The adjectives acceptable (average), good and perfect have one thing in common – degree of a standard. They thus denote levels of quality or excellence that are normally accepted or by which actual attainments are judged. Generally in the academia, Grades A, B, C, D, E and F respectively represent Excellent, Very Good, Good, Credit, Pass and Fail. However, the grading system of some professional schools categorized Grades A, B+ and B as Pass Grades and Grades C, D, E and F as Failure Grades. Thus while Grades C and D are Pass Grades at most secondary and tertiary institutions, they are Failure Grades in some professional institutions. Similarly, what we mostly consider as acceptable and good are below God’s firm standard; ask Cornelius.

Excuse is the chief of ungodly compromises. One of such excuses is the so-called adage ‘no person is perfect’. This deceptive adage is usually premised on the fact that we live in an imperfect world which is full of imperfect creatures. So doing good or what is acceptable are usually the general standards majority of the populace aim to attain. No wonder many people have exchanged or sacrificed integrity for mediocrity. But why should you settle for good or better although you can attain the best! Prefer perfection to good and acceptable in all instances.

Perfection is a choice! Noah and Job were perfect and blameless in their perverted generations because they chose to be so. They decisively chose to fear God, walked with Him, and shunned evil. As a result, God delivered only Noah and his household from the Great Flood that destroyed all living things which were on the face of the earth. Besides, Job was the greatest of all the people in the East. And he enjoyed twice of this blessing after staying faithful to God in the midst of an intense adversity.  God always prefers perfect to the acceptable and good although he may choose to work with the latter. The fact that God may choose to work with imperfect creatures is never a rule but a temporary exception. God’s aim in such exceptional cases is to empower the imperfect creatures to be perfect creatures if they choose to walk in the light of His Word. Despite God’s covenant with the 75-year old Abraham, He still required him to “walk before (Him) and be blameless (perfect)” when the latter was 99 years old. Abraham’s subsequent absolute obedience moved God to release His abundant blessings upon the latter.

Heaven belongs to only perfect people. And all such perfect persons are being or were prepared from this imperfect world. Jesus’s perfect character and personality were proved while he was in this world. He chose to walk in the light of God’s Word and unique plan for his life even in the midst of all contradictions and fiercest trials. Therefore, attaining perfection on earth is achievable. To achieve perfection on earth, we must a) genuinely choose to fear God and daily walk with Him like Jesus did; b) intentionally purpose not to conform to the standards of this world; and c) understand that diverse trials and tests are vital tools that make us “perfect and complete”.  Patience and perseverance are thus needed to endure such trials and tests. Perfection is God’s idea, character and personality. Rejecting it on earth is rejecting God forever!

            Richard Obeng Mensah, author of If You Think of Your Opposition You Lose Your Position. Email: richardobengmensah@gmail.com Blog: www.richard-obeng-mensah.blogspot.com