Hey, nobody’s perfect.
We’ve all heard this before. It is the standard reflex to making a mistake, our excuse for whenever we are in error. If something goes wrong, we just shrug it off and declare this all too familiar statement. Nobody’s perfect. Believing we have to be can be a stumbling block that destroys our self esteem, because we all make mistakes. So, the old adage is far more important than we realize; if we don’t instill this in our lives, we can be tainted by our own pride, and our service to God can be affected. That’s the danger of demanding perfection, because when we don’t achieve it, it is so easy to be discouraged. Desiring perfection leads to us focusing on ourselves and not relying on God, which is the result of pride. Christ died because we can’t be perfect.
And yet, it is so hard to accept this.
Maybe some are better at this than others. Some can say this phrase and fully believe it, while, more importantly, understanding that Christ covers these sins. Others see imperfections as something that disqualifies them from a role in ministry. These are the people who have been deceived by Satan and I, unfortunately, fall into this category. We all fall, and this is definitely true in my life, but the fault is when we let these sins take over our lives, when we say “I can’t be perfect, so I can’t serve God.” The next step is to fall deeper into our vices, believing that this lack of perfection is reason enough to just accept our sins. We resign ourselves to just continuing on the same road, because perfection is so far from our grasp. We feel incapable of perfection, but while this is true, our pride leads to repeating the same mistakes. This is when “nobody’s perfect” becomes a problem, because not striving for it will destroy us.
Proverbs 16:18 – Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before the fall.
This is the paradox of the search for perfection. We can admit we are not perfect and simply continue on the wrong path, allowing pride to lead us to a place that says “I can’t be perfect, so why try?” This is the wrong response. It’s easy to confuse a self-effacing outlook with humility, but they are not the same. Believing we are not good enough may be true, but it is detrimental when we believe this makes us insignificant. Humility says “I’m not good enough, but God is gracious and He loves me. Through him, and only through his sacrifice, I can do good works.” Here is where accepting our faults is beneficial, when it is paired with repentance.
Romans 12:3 - For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
When we believe we can be perfect on our own, we have too high of an opinion of ourselves. The result is that failing to meet perfection can lead to self loathing and bitterness, which is followed by continuing the same pattern. However, when we maintain sober judgment, we rely on God and he redeems us.
Before attending Spring Lake, I was a member of another church where I had been my entire life. For eight years, I served in the worship ministry. Of course, I was and still am not perfect, but I loved worship and I anticipated every service. This was a true passion of mine and no matter where I was in my walk with God, I still managed to fully engage myself in worship. Until one day, a new worship pastor took over the youth group team (which I had led) and brought what I thought was a performance-centered approach to worship. I visibly expressed my disapproval in a meeting and was deemed too spiritually immature to play on the team. I had to regularly meet with him until he felt I was good enough to play with the group. I was scarred by this experience, and I still find myself believing that I can’t play worship until I perfect my spiritual life. I find it hard to believe otherwise. However, God does not want us to believe we can’t serve Him because we have spiritual inconsistencies. If this were true, ministry would cease to exist. In fact, serving God is a way to grow spiritually.
1 Peter 4:10 - Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.
Don’t feel that you have to have everything figured out before you can be a leader. This is a matter of pride. It assumes that we are above God, because we are the ones that decide who deserves to serve in a leadership capacity. What this neglects is the truth that God has a purpose for us and He guides our paths. If He gives us gifts, He wants us to use them to serve Him. Saying “we aren’t good enough”, because we have not reached perfection, tells God that he can’t move through us in spite of our faults, which diminishes our God. Not serving in a church community will only perpetuate our sins, because we are not fellowshipping with others, and that hurts our spiritual walk. We are all part of God’s body, and we have the responsibility to share our gifts.
1 Corinthians 12:24-27 - But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
So, we don’t have to be perfect, right? We just have to contribute as God requires and rely on God’s grace to save us. We can simply be justified and serve God while still sinning, right?. Absolutely not. Paul, one of the greatest figures in scriptures and an active missionary who shared God’s Word, also struggled with imperfections, which he admits in Romans 7. However, he says this to the suggestion that we can continue in our ways because of God’s grace: “What then? Shall we sin because we are . . . under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Romans 6:15,16) This passage highlights an important truth that I believe differentiates the servants who strive for God and those who serve God in ministry without truly embracing Him. God will use us, no matter what our spiritual state. He is sovereign and His plan will be accomplished, even if it is through imperfect people. However, we cannot serve two masters, and our sins can still rule our lives even while we minister to others. This leads me to the point that I find essential to remember: God can use us in our weakness, but we cannot truly appreciate God and His purpose if we are still slaves to our sin. We can worship, and people can be led to worship, but we hurt ourselves if we don’t seek God fully. If we don’t open ourselves to surrender and follow God, we won’t fully appreciate how God is using us. We’ll still be separated from Him.
And that is why God is not satisfied with us just accepting our imperfections. He wants us to turn to Him and let His grace overcome, which takes sacrifice. It takes continual acts and, yes, some effort on our part, because we need to daily serve God, be filled by His Spirit. This comes from devotion and prayer. This comes from trusting the Lord. We can’t be perfect, except through God’s grace, but we cannot be slaves to our flesh. We must be slaves to righteousness. We must “prepare [our] minds for action; be self-controlled; set [our] hope fully on the grace to be given [us] when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, [we cannot] conform to the evil desires [we] had when [we] lived in ignorance. But just as he who called [us] is holy, [we must] be holy in all [we] do; for it is written: "Be holy, because [God is] holy." (1 Peter 1:13-16) God expects a lot from us, but we can’t do it on our own. We need to surrender to Him, the Perfect God, if we ever want to approach His throne without fault. Of course, we still will sin, but that is why Christ died, to free us from our sin. He wants a relationship with us, and sent his son to die for this purpose. All he asks is that we desire the same.
Paul, who openly admitted his faults in Romans, but who was an active part of God’s ministry in the New Testament (and came from a background of persecuting Christians), also declares his desire to reach perfection, even as it is difficult to attain: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14) We are not perfect, and we can’t be on our own. But we must strive for it, turning to God. Christ expects this of us; he commands it: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthews 5:48) We can’t use imperfections as an excuse.
Nobody’s perfect . . . But God is. And we need to be like God.
Our Challenge For Worship
Are we using our imperfections as an excuse? Do we believe we aren’t good enough to worship God? When we worship, let us strive to be pleasing to God, a slave to righteousness, not our sin. Not to be hard on ourselves, but to full embrace God.
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