Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4)

Ponder It.
What is your favorite outfit? Why?
Do you expect more of yourself or others?
How does perfectionism—in yourself or others—get in the way of your faith?

Receive It.
Everything doesn’t have to match. I know that’s difficult for many of us to fathom. We can’t put Carolina blue with Yale blue, jungle green with olive, or international orange with tangelo. We might be able to mix colors but the red in our scarves has to at least blend with the red in our jacket. But there are so many colors, so many shades, so many dye lots. When we get too matchy matchy with our colors, we will never be content. We will always find fault, claiming “it’s not a perfect match!”

What is a perfect match? And why is it so important? I’m not recommending we haphazardly pull together any hue and see how obnoxious we can make our outfits, house décor, events, and so on. But we need to let go of our perfectionism. Only God meets the perfection standard. In fact, only He truly knows what that standard entails. We think we know. We redefine it. We try to shove ourselves into it to force a fit, like Cinderella’s stepsisters trying on the glass slipper. But it’s not going to happen. We can’t reach perfection on our own. We don’t perfect ourselves. We allow ourselves to be perfected by God. That takes humility. Humility, which seems to be in opposition to perfection, is the perfect match. We will not be perfect in this life. Perfection is completion, and as long as we are alive, God is working on us. He will complete us, but it is a process. Stay humble. Let Him work in your life. You’ll clash with Him from time to time but it’s better than trying to be matchy matchy, coordinating what you think is best without letting Him have control over the wardrobe of your heart.
Live It.
Wear two different socks, shoes, or earrings all day today. At the end of the day, reflect on how the imperfections affected you. How can the reminder that you are imperfect help you rely on God for your completion?