I spend a great deal of my time flying around the country. I speak at churches and conventions and symposiums all across our great nation. I address issues that affect families and parents and the level of risk that our kids face—risks that you and I didn’t even know could, let alone would, exist. There are some simple conclusions that I’ve come to in the last few years. Let’s take a look at one of these…
The Quest for Perfect
Many times husbands and wives cringe when their spouse asks them to go and look at furniture, or ‘new homes,’ or worst of all: designer wallpaper. The reason is that men and women are bombarded with programs and literature and magazine ads that push and tug at visual improvements. I’m not saying this is a ‘bad’ thing in and of itself. What I’m saying is that in this culture in contemporary America, this whole thing seems to be over-the-top.
The push for perfectionism is everywhere. The tug and nudge to spend and improve and update seems non-stop. The desire to meet the standard of ‘best’ or ‘better’ swarms around every single family. As a long-standing pastor of this community, I see the impact and effect of this kind of focus.
Let me state my intent here as clearly as I possibly can: Much of the time we don’t need the things we buy. Your home is fine. Your present car—as long as it is running and capable of getting you and your team from Point A to Point B is fine and useful. What is not useful is purging yourself of what you have and constantly looking to replace and update and improve.
I have a friend who is a contractor. He frequently finds himself in the uncomfortable position of playing marriage counselor. He said that sometimes the words and the language and the ill-feelings of whether or not to ‘redo the downstairs bathroom’ can be brutal.
Think: is your life going to be all that much ‘better’ if you change out your downstairs carpet and replace it with a brand new laminate floor?
The Most Important Things
The Bigger Picture is that your family needs spiritual guidance. Your family needs spiritual mooring. Your family needs the comfort, care, instruction and wise counsel of local people who will walk with you through good times and not-so-good times.
Stated simply: you and your family need a spiritual home. Do yourself a favor, ping me. Let’s Get Coffee! I’d love to get to know you. I’d love to find out who you are and swap life stories. I’d love to introduce you to some of our community’s best and brightest people. I’d love to share insights from God’s Word and the accumulated wisdoms of the Scripture.
One thing is a given: there’s a time coming when you’re going to need such a community. Calvary Chapel Living Hope is your place where contentment radiates forth. Let’s find time to connect and get to know one another this week. In fact, I’m teaching this Sunday. Come and join me.
