Be Whole
Blog / Produced by The High Calling
I was fourteen when my brother taught me to play chess, and I couldn’t get enough of it. For hours on summer afternoons, I played in the shade of our backyard maple tree. I loved the pieces, loved how they looked and felt—the endless combinations of board moves; I loved the challenge to outwit an opponent.
But within a few years, I quit playing because chess had ceased to be fun. I worked too hard at it. I was too intense. Chess mastery is notoriously difficult, and I wanted perfection.
Looking back now, I realize how many times in my life I struggled for perfection in bowling, ice skating, cards, cooking, skiing, clarinet . . . home repairs! No time for learning curves; step aside and let me master it now. Play for fun? If I can’t do it perfectly, I may not do it at all.
Of course, now I know that an unhealthy drive for perfection robs life. It causes us to fear risk and measure our self worth by other people. We feel like failures when we fall short of an unattainable goal.
But imagine how I, as a young Christian, heard Jesus’ words: “Be perfect, therefore, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). How could anyone be as perfect as God? How can anyone measure up to God’s demands? Early in my faith journey, I lived before him with fear, shame, and feelings of failure because I received Jesus’ words as an impossible demand.
What relief when I learned that the biblical word so often translated perfect more precisely means fully grown, complete, mature: “Be whole as your Father in heaven is whole.” In context, Jesus calls us to a new relationship of wholeness with God and other people—he calls us to mature faith. Whole means to make room to grow, to stay open to change, to take risks that mature our relationship with God and others. It’s about letting God’s love work in our lives.
Former tennis star Billy Jean King said, “Be bold. If you’re going to make an error, make a doozy and don’t be afraid to hit the ball.” I like that. A Christian’s game of life does not demand perfection. We step out in faith, risk boldly, and trust God’s grace and power at work in our lives to make us whole—even as our Father in heaven is whole.
And we risk ourselves in games of chess for the pure fun of it.
But within a few years, I quit playing because chess had ceased to be fun. I worked too hard at it. I was too intense. Chess mastery is notoriously difficult, and I wanted perfection.
Looking back now, I realize how many times in my life I struggled for perfection in bowling, ice skating, cards, cooking, skiing, clarinet . . . home repairs! No time for learning curves; step aside and let me master it now. Play for fun? If I can’t do it perfectly, I may not do it at all.
Of course, now I know that an unhealthy drive for perfection robs life. It causes us to fear risk and measure our self worth by other people. We feel like failures when we fall short of an unattainable goal.
But imagine how I, as a young Christian, heard Jesus’ words: “Be perfect, therefore, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). How could anyone be as perfect as God? How can anyone measure up to God’s demands? Early in my faith journey, I lived before him with fear, shame, and feelings of failure because I received Jesus’ words as an impossible demand.
What relief when I learned that the biblical word so often translated perfect more precisely means fully grown, complete, mature: “Be whole as your Father in heaven is whole.” In context, Jesus calls us to a new relationship of wholeness with God and other people—he calls us to mature faith. Whole means to make room to grow, to stay open to change, to take risks that mature our relationship with God and others. It’s about letting God’s love work in our lives.
Former tennis star Billy Jean King said, “Be bold. If you’re going to make an error, make a doozy and don’t be afraid to hit the ball.” I like that. A Christian’s game of life does not demand perfection. We step out in faith, risk boldly, and trust God’s grace and power at work in our lives to make us whole—even as our Father in heaven is whole.
And we risk ourselves in games of chess for the pure fun of it.
The demands, pressures and stress of work can put a huge strain on relationships with our coworkers. This 4-day plan from Theology of Work Project and Workmatters provides simple steps you can take to be more loving to your coworkers that will transform those relationships and increase both joy and productivity at work.