“I am not perfect!” I want to scream at those who criticize me. Last night my husband came home to find me writing once again, and was not happy. It is not that he does not want me to write, but when I write, I often neglect other things as in cleaning the house and cooking meals. I argue that I am not a domestic woman and never have been. My son gets irritated with me because I don’t always remember what time he gets out of school. But, give me a break! He is in college and drives his own car. It’s not like I need to remember that detail. But I should as it is important to him. In Matthew 5:48, Jesus said, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” He did not follow up with a list of exceptions to the rule. It does not matter if someone has hurt our feelings or overstepped boundaries. It does not take into consideration our wants or desires. We are just called to strive for the same perfection as seen in God. I am not a bad person. In fact, for the most part I am pretty good! I have no problem with substance abuse, illegal activities, with lusting after other men. But, wait! Really? Who am I comparing myself to? When I compare myself to the pure and holy God, I see my negativity, my unkind and critical words, and my lack of content at where God has placed me right now in my life. I let other people control my emotions and those emotions result in sinful thoughts and words. Did not Jesus face the same circumstances, and even worse? Yet, He was without sin. If we read the verses preceding Matthew 5:48, we realize that Jesus was teaching the Pharisees, ‘the pretty good people’, and He was telling them to not only love those who treat them badly, but to pray for them and encourage then. Yes, encourage them! He said to go out of our way to greet them and treat them special. That means that those whom I feel betray me and treat me badly are the ones for whom I am to go the extra mile. And is that not what Jesus did? He died for us while we were dead in our sins! Jesus is a tall act to follow. But I pray that His Spirit will work in my heart to draw me closer to the perfection that He represents. I pray that my mind and spirit will be controlled by the Spirit and not influenced by other people. I pray that instead of letting my heart become negative when other’s do not like me, that I will pray for them and encourage them all the more. And I pray that I will, ‘be perfect, as my heavenly Father is perfect.”