Most people think they would like to live in a perfect world. In an effort to achieve that goal we relentlessly pursue perfection. To that end, we seem to think that we can make laws against every negative aspect of human nature. Laws, we hope, will bring about the perfection we want.

The problem with our obsession of creating a perfect world is that there are no perfect people to live in such a place. People are fallible and flawed. No matter how hard we try, we cannot punish the fallibility out of people. When people are asked to be perfect they just fake it or admit that they can not live up to the expectations demanded.

What a dilemma!

Since humans can not live up to what is expected of them they often manufacture elaborate deceptions to hide their sins and inherent fallibility. Alas! They can not do that perfectly either! What a dilemma!

Despite the fact that people are fallible we still hold to our foolish premise that they should not be! We reason that if they only tried a little harder they could be perfect. We stand aghast at the fallibility of others. Nothing stops us from blindly pursuing our impossible dream. We seem oblivious to our incongruity. Often we may even hold others to a different standard than ourselves. Perhaps it is just us who is not perfect.

What about God who claims He made mankind? Most graciously we decide not to hold Him in anyway responsible for our fallibility. Instead, we blame His creation. By doing that we are really blaming Him anyway. We simply do it by inference.

There seems to be no end to the hostility that we have for those that do not live up to our concepts of perfection. One has only to ask how many people we have written off as heretics, defectives and rejects! We refuse to see people as they really are – fallible, flawed, and deceived beings. I am one of those fallible creatures that God made. I have come to realize that there are some major flaws in the view " religious" people have of God and His greatest creation, mankind.

Though it may be a well-worn phrase, it is reality. No one is perfect! That, as any logical thinking person will easily surmise is not something that we asked for. We did not create ourselves. Nor did we ask to be fallible flawed creatures. God, since He made us, is responsible for that.

Higher Standards Than God?

What does all this imply? It implies that there are a lot of people that have different standards for mankind than God has. That makes them awfully self-righteous. If God wanted us to be in this life the kind of’ perfect we think He wants, He and He alone would have to give us the power to accomplish it. Who do you know has that kind of power? No one is perfect!

How many people, leaders, and friends have fallen from the high pedestals of our expectations we put them on? And when they fall, which they all do, how we can condemn them! Never mind the fact that they may have asked God on their knees with tears and sorrow to help them live a perfect life. The answer was a resounding "No! My grace is sufficient for you!" as God told the Apostle Paul (see 2Corinthians 12:9 ). We see negative behavior that proves fallibility and we blame poor flawed humanity!

When leaders, friends and associates do not overcome the sins we think they should, we trash them. Because our unrealistic demands for perfection are not met, we proclaim them hypocrites.

Wrong Concept of Perfection?

The problem with all of this is that we are too deceived to realize that we are using a false concept of perfection. True, God says He wants us to be perfect. Only His definition is different than ours. God wants to perfect our forgiving process. He has given us the ability to do what He wants. We can forgive all we want.

He wants us to be understanding, slow to anger, full of mercy and willing to forgive at the drop of a hat! He wants us to love others even though they are deceived. Forgiveness is the perfection that He seeks from us! We have the power to give Him what he wants. So, lets get busy!